


Fragrant Harbor

by angelica



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: ARGUS, AU for Hong Kong Flashbacks, Alternate Universe, F/M, Hong Kong, i promise nobody will be killing themselves by stabbing themselves with a dagger in the heart, unintentional romeo and juliet undertones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-03-30 03:12:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3920788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelica/pseuds/angelica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen is in Hong Kong and has a week to complete his next A.R.G.U.S. mission. The target is surely going to get him in trouble.</p><p> </p><p>(a.k.a. Oliver meets Felicity in Hong Kong in 2009).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mission

**Chapter 1 – The Mission**

Hong Kong was hot, too hot for his liking, making him almost wish for the constant humidity and the chilly nights of the island. He walked through the empty back streets with his two watchers behind him, the hot afternoon sun burning the behind of his neck, sweat forming on his forehead and dripping down his face, his black shirt providing no comfort. His body still ached from the beating he received during his last mission a couple of days ago. He rubbed his wrist with his good hand, clamping his fingers over the bandage on his shoulder and wished for the pain to disappear but to no avail. He thought about what Waller had in store for him now.

He still had nightmares from the last time he had taken a man’s life just because A.R.G.U.S. wanted him to. Forced him to. He had stared into his target’s face and pulled the trigger without any ceremony. He hadn’t even known the man’s name or why A.R.G.U.S wanted him dead. He felt sick in his stomach thinking about the noise of the skull blasting and the dead body falling on the ground with a thump and how he had thrown up bile right on to the warm blood spilling on to the hardwood floors.  He didn't want to go on another mission, but here he was.

He followed his two watchers to an alley and entered through a metal door they opened, showing off their small machine guns to make sure he complied and climbed up the staircase leading to a large, darkened room. Over the last months, he had met Amanda Waller numerous times and each encounter had taken place at a different location. The locations were different but shared the same characteristics: abandoned and empty except from a desk and a chair, a couple of lights hanging from the ceiling, the windows large but dark, not showing out what was outside and making sure nobody could see what was happening inside. They reminded him of his father’s factory. While the Queen steel factory had been alive with people working, the A.R.G.U.S. locations were devoid of life and activity.

He walked towards the empty chair and sat down, knowing what he needed to do. The now familiar noise of heels clicking against the hard floor came a few minutes later. He didn’t bother to look up at the face of the woman who kept him in captivity, keeping him away from his home, from his family, his freedom, his will.

“Mr. Queen, nice to see you as always.” Her voice was direct and cold, as usual, as he expected. “I hope your injury isn’t so bad.”

Oliver leered at the woman and kept his mouth shut. One thing he had learned about Waller was the fact that she didn’t like being talked back at.

He felt Waller’s eyes on him carefully studying him, to evaluate his reactions. “I have a mission for you, something that requires your old skills.”

The comment confused him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Oliver couldn’t help but ask. So far all the missions he had been on required skills he had picked up on Lian Yu, skills he had to pick up for survival, skills that gave him nightmares.

Waller walked over to him and handed him a nondescript manila folder. “This is Damien Darkh.” She opened the file and showed a candid photo of a man in a suit talking on the phone. It wasn’t a clear photo, Oliver didn’t know what he was supposed to see. “He is the US Ambassador to China.” She told him. Oliver picked up the photo to examine it in more detail. “Mr. Darkh moved here to Hong Kong three years ago, appointed by the government. Two and a half years ago, he decided he wanted more out of politics and got involved with the local clans here.”

“The Triad?” Oliver asked as he looked into the contents of the file, deliberately ignoring the reports written in tiny fonts.

“He started with The Triad and then moved to Yakuza. He is currently standing right in between a possible gang war in Hong Kong. Should the war start, the ramifications will be devastating. For both China and for United States.”

“Doesn’t the government know about this?” he inquired. He didn’t know why A.R.G.U.S. would want him involved when the government could easily take the man away from his position.

“It is not that simple.” Waller responded. “Mr. Darkh has friends in high places and has both gangs protecting him. We can’t get close to him without tipping off either of the gangs or getting blocked by his powerful friends.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow. “So what, do you want me to go undercover in Triad? If you haven’t noticed, I’m not Chinese. I can’t even speak the language.”

Waller smirked but didn’t say anything. She stepped away then came back holding another similar looking folder. “We don’t need you near the gangs. We need you to get close to Mr. Darkh.”

“I’m sure you have plenty of other men under your payroll who can do that.” Oliver commented. He wasn’t sure that Waller truly appreciated his skills. She was just using him as a pawn, as an errand boy. He knew very well that she had other people under her command who could do a better job than he would. He had already been tortured by some during his first days in A.R.G.U.S.

Waller handed him the folder. “Not with the particular set of skills you possess from your old life.” She opened the file and handed him a photo. It was a photo of a girl, maybe a few years younger than him. The girl in the photo was smiling a bright smile, her dark hair contrasting with her pale skin, looking happy in her graduation gown, holding a white diploma. She looked happy. Oliver gripped the photo tightly, focusing on it, ignoring Waller momentarily. “This is Mr. Darkh’s daughter. Nobody has seen her in public for two years now. This is the last visual we have on her.” she said, tapping on the photo. “The photo is from three years ago, from her graduation from M.I.T. Bright, young girl.” she commented.

“Pretty.” he commented in a low voice. “Did he kill her?” Oliver asked out of curiosity, not looking away from the photo.

“No.” Waller shook her head. “Our resources tell us that she is here in Hong Kong, under house arrest under her father’s orders.” She gave him a smile that sent chills down his body. “This is where you come in, Mr. Queen. You need to get close to her, gain her trust then use her to gain access to her father.”

Oliver sighed. He looked at the photo of the girl on her graduation day, smiling. She didn’t look like the kind who was involved with whatever shady stuff her father was doing. She looked like the kind of person who was burdened by her family. He knew the feeling very well.

“We need you to seduce Ms. Darkh. Are we clear, Mr. Queen?” Waller demanded.

“It’s just that…” Oliver started. “She looks innocent. She doesn’t look like she is involved with her father’s wrongdoings. And if she is under house arrest, shouldn’t we be saving her? I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”

“Ms. Darkh’s situation does not concern us.” Waller responded, sharp and clear. “We need her to gain access to her father and stop him. It’s that simple. Do you understand?”

Oliver nodded.

“Good.” Waller said. “Mr. Darkh will be throwing a party at his residence for the Fourth of July. We arranged an invitation for you. You’re gonna go there, find Ms. Darkh and work that infamous Queen charm magazines kept talking about.”

“I didn’t know it was a thing.”

“The media made it a thing. After your demise.” she responded. “There were quite many girls out there talking about you and your particular skills.”

Oliver felt a pang in his heart upon her words. The legacy he had left behind was his womanizing skills. People remembered him not for his good deeds, not for his success, not as a good son, but for his sex life. After everything he had gone through, after everything he had done, Oliver was now a different person. The person he had been, the rich guy with the trust fund money without any responsibilities, who had taken everything given to him for granted had died when Queen’s Gambit sank. He despised that person. And now A.R.G.U.S. was forcing him to be that person again.

He had been working with A.R.G.U.S. for months now, doing whatever he was told. His previous attempts at escaping from the organization had been futile. He was their puppet now, until he was allowed to walk away. It was the prospect of returning to Starling City, returning to his family that kept him going. Yet sometimes he couldn’t help but wish that he had gone down with Amazo, along with Sara, along with Slade.

"Those skills might be a little rusty. Given I was shipwrecked on an uncharted island after all.” he remarked, stopping his own thoughts.

“Somehow I highly doubt that. You weren’t very celibate on that island after all, were you?” She gave him a knowing smirk. “That’s all, Mr. Queen. You have a week. My associates will now see you out and will brief you about the specifications. You’ll be taken to a safe house for a couple of days until the party. The house will serve as your cover. Mr. Yamashiro and his wife know that you’ll be away for a while. They’ll be away, too.” she explained. “Good luck.” she said, then disappeared into the shadows she came from.

The two watchers nudged Oliver on his wounded shoulder, ordering him to get on his feet. Oliver took one last look at the photo of the smiling girl and got on his feet. He silently walked in front of the two men down the stairs and stepped out to the Hong Kong heat.


	2. The Preparation

**Chapter 2 – The Preparation**

The littlest things were the most important, that he knew now. As he stood in the shower stall with hot water cascading down his body, Oliver reflected on how he had taken so many things granted in his life. Like a hot shower.

He had spent about two years using creeks and lakes on the island to wash up. No matter how long he’d be in the water, it had always felt like the dirt, the grime never washed away. In Hong Kong, he had showered in various A.R.G.U.S. facilities that had less than stellar plumbing systems. Maseo and Tatsu’s hot water never fully worked; most of the time, he needed to heat water in a kettle and use it and burned himself every time.

Now he was in the safe house assigned to him and the basic concept of hot running water felt like luxury to him. Gone were the hot tubs and showers with different showerheads with different pressures in the Queen mansion. The stall he was in with its dark green tiles and rusty faucet was the best he had ever been in.

After spending more than enough time and water, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. The mirror was fogged and with his palm, he cleared it enough to see his image. He looked as terrible as he felt. The scars took him by surprise every time he saw them. His once unblemished skin was now home to several scars.

He turned his shoulder to check the dragon tattoo he was given. The image was discolored. The tattoo artist hadn’t exactly been a professional one though his lining looked pretty good. He hadn’t given Oliver him any tips of after-care so now the tattoo looked faded. Oliver didn’t mind it. It was a bad memory but he was, in a strange way, happy to carry a reminder of Shado on him. 

He used the towel to dry himself and opened the new package of boxers that was bought for him. It was the first time in two years he was wearing new, fresh underwear. It was a great feeling. He wore the black boxers and looked at his image once again, a smile forming on his face at the prospect of simply wearing new cotton underwear.

He got out of the bathroom and walked over to the bed where a suit was waiting for him. He had had worn suits starting from a very young age and never cared about them until A.R.G.U.S. sent out a tailor to make one for him. Suffice to say, it had been emotional for Oliver to stand on a makeshift platform in front of a mirror as the tailor measured him all over with a tape. He couldn’t explain to the small Chinese man that he was so happy to be measured because he was going to wear a tailor-made suit after spending two years wearing nothing but dead men’s clothes.

He put on the suit with the excitement of a child. The tailor had done a great job, the fabric felt great and he liked to think that it looked good on him. He looked at his reflection. He looked more different than the last time he had worn a suit. He was more muscular, his shoulders were broader. And his hair… yeah, he needed to do something about it. Given that he needed to leave soon for the party and didn’t have enough time to cut the hair in a way he’d like, he decided to use the hair gel he saw in the bathroom. He grabbed a handful of gel and dropped it on his head, then combed the gel through his hair, pushing it back. He looked better, even stylish for a change.

He faked a smile on the mirror to get himself in the mood. He had a mission to do. It didn’t involve guns or killing for a change. He was going to attend to a party, remember that he was American, enjoy some fireworks, and if he was lucky, eat some hotdogs then charm a girl. A girl whose smile he couldn’t get out of his mind.

He stepped out of his bedroom and was met by his two handlers waiting for him in the living room. They stood rigid with no emotions on their faces, not that Oliver was expecting any. He had got used to the silent treatment. They nodded at Oliver and one of them, the one Oliver called Thing 2 in his mind, handed him a pocket knife.

For a moment, as he felt the weight of the pocket knife in his palm, Oliver thought about attacking the two handlers with the weapon and escape and get himself as far as possible from A.R.G.U.S. He could hitch a ride out of the city or maybe get on a ship and get away from Hong Kong, not caring where he ended up. He could turn up at an American embassy and try to get back home. He could go to Russia and maybe try to locate Anatoli and turn his favor in. He could do anything.

Then Thing 1 cleared his throat and his daydream ended. “The knife is for emergencies. Don’t do anything stupid.” he said in a low voice. It surprised Oliver to hear him talk.

Oliver kept his mouth shut and nodded, then placed the knife in his pocket. Knowing the routine by now, he stepped out and allowed them to follow him. He knew that he was going to be alone in the party and that the entourage was only until he safely made it inside the shady Ambassador’s residence. The prospect of it made him happy for a moment. He was going to be by himself surrounded by strangers on his own terms, despite the mission. He couldn’t remember the last time that happened to him since he boarded Queen’s Gambit.

He sat down at the back seat of the luxurious town car, enjoying the leather seats. Thing 1 and 2 were at the front seats, with 1 driving and 2 holding a gun on Oliver. Even with the gun on himself, Oliver took the moment to enjoy himself. For a moment, it felt like old days, with people driving him as he sat down. He would usually have a drink in one hand and a girl under his arms back in Starling City. Oliver didn’t think about that. He simply enjoyed the fact that he was being driven in a nice car.

The car came to a halt. Oliver looked out from the tinted windows and saw tall iron gates with guards waiting before them. The residence he had seen in photos stood behind the gates, looking bright under the dark night skies.

“This is as far as we go.” Thing 1 said. “Go in, do your job and don’t do anything stupid.”

“Thanks for the words of confidence.” Oliver commented as he opened the door and got out, holding his invitation like a weapon, like his lifesaver, like a guarantee. He walked to the guards and held out his invitation. He wasn’t surprised to see that the guards didn’t even look at him after seeing the invitation. A.R.G.U.S. had had difficulty getting the invitation themselves, it was more important than any identification.

The big iron gates opened for him as the guards nodded at each other. He was let inside. Now all he had to do was to confirm that Damien Darkh was inside and find his daughter and get in contact with her. As he told Waller, his flirtation skills were rusty and he wasn’t sure if he could actually find Darkh’s daughter inside. Her photo was from three years ago, her appearance could have changed beyond recognition. A.R.G.U.S. wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she would be at the party; they just had their suspicions. It was all up to Oliver.

He walked the pathway decorated with lanterns leading up to the residence. The residence was unlike those prominent in the rest of the city. Oliver didn’t know architectural terms, but he could say that it resembled houses from back in the States. It wasn’t really grandiose like the Queen mansion, but it was big. He walked up the steps to the main door and entered inside. The main event was in the living room, he had been told, so he followed a group of people he noticed lead the way.

The room was lush, with bright lights and people in formal clothes, no less different than any event at the Queen mansion. He looked around inconspicuously, trying not to gather any attention on himself. He couldn’t help but notice an abundance of guards standing by windows, very possibly hiding heavy machine guns under their jackets, reminding him of Thing 1 and 2.

His eyes sought Damien Darkh and his daughter amongst the crowd but neither of them were present in the main room. Oliver saw a door leading to a back garden and walked through it. Like the pathway leading up to the main door, the garden was lighted by lanterns and was filled with small bistro tables. He picked up a glass of champagne from a waiter passing by and stood alone by a table, using the vantage point to look for his targets.

There was a loud sound that caught him off guard. He looked around for the source of impending danger. There was no danger he realized as the night sky lightened up with colors. Fireworks. It was Fourth of July and they were doing fireworks. Oliver looked up, a smile showing up on his face as he was reminded of his younger days watching fireworks. It was the first time in years he had seen fireworks. They were so colorful and bright, it brought a sense of joy to him.

He continued looking at the sky, then looked down to watch people watching the fireworks. It was wonderful to see the colors lighting up the faces in the crowd. For a moment Oliver forgot about A.R.G.U.S., forgot about his mission and just enjoyed himself.

Then his eyes caught a smile. A smile belonging to a beautiful bespectacled face fashioning a ponytail. A smile he recognized from a photo. His target.


	3. The Intention

**Chapter 3 – The Intention**

Lights illuminated her face. She looked different than she had been in her photo, but the smile was the same. Oliver ignored the loud noises around him, ignored the faces around him and just focused on her. For a second, it felt like she was the only person out there.

Fireworks were still going on strong and she was watching them, the smile on her face ever present. She was standing by herself out in the crowd, looking mesmerized by the display of lights in the sky. The joy the fireworks brought on her face was akin to how he felt as he watched her from a distance. Then she looked down and at him. Their eyes met. Her smile turned into a shy one, then she looked away.

Damien Darkh’s daughter was still alive, was at the residence, in front of him. She looked different than she had been on the photo from her graduation day. Her dark hair was now blonde and she was wearing thick framed glasses. He had his confirmation. At least one part of his mission was done. He now just needed to go and talk to her, to establish contact. Oliver grabbed another glass of champagne and seeking liquid courage, gulped it down. As he noticed her walking away, he realized his mission was going to be more difficult than he thought.

He knew her name from the file on her. Felicity. He hadn’t thought much about it earlier, but as his eyes sought her, he thought that the name fit her. Sure he hadn’t actually talked to her, but just her face… there was something about her that Oliver couldn’t quite describe. Maybe it was the alcohol in his system making him think like that. Or maybe it was the stress of the mission or the fact that it had been a long time since he had been in a social environment waiting to talk up to a girl. He wasn’t certain. He just knew it that he needed to go and talk to her, and not just for his mission.

He caught sight of her ponytail amongst the crowd, walking inside. He didn’t want to drive attention to himself, so he didn’t run after her. He took long strides and quickened his pace and followed her back inside the mansion. He stood by the doors and looked around. There were too many people inside, the loud chatter almost deafening, suppressing the low music playing. He quickly scanned the room and there she was, standing next to a big fish tank with colorful fish in it he hadn’t noticed before.

He thought about possible things to say to her before making an appearance. He thought about pickup lines he used from what seemed to be a lifetime ago. He thought about what Tommy would say when approaching a beautiful woman to make an impression. He thought about something funny and smart. He came up empty.

Instead he just decided to take action and play along. With reassured steps he walked over to her and stood next to her before the fish tank, looking at the fish, with the hope that she would notice him and initiate first contact. She was much shorter than him, dressed in a red outfit with matching high heels. He briefly wondered if her feet were tired, then chastised himself mentally for his gross thoughts. She was a target and they hadn’t even spoken to each other; he didn’t need to think about her feet like he had a weird fetish.

“Did you know that there are more than 500 types of fish that can be kept as pets? Technically you can’t pet them, but you can keep them in your house. Not like lying around like a dog. In a fish tank.”

He wasn’t sure he heard it correctly or whether what he heard was addressed to him. She spoke. In a quick way, faster than he had heard anyone talk. About fish. To him. Oliver couldn’t help but smile. He then turned his head slightly to her direction and found her looking at him. She was talking to him. He thought that she was being so cute. It made the smile on his face bigger, more genuine.

“I know now.” he responded. “There should be a hundred of them just in this one.” he added, looking back at the fish. One thing he remembered from his past life as a playboy was the fact that girls liked it when he paid attention to details. Also when he tried to be mysterious. He wasn’t sure if the same tactics were going to work on Damien Darkh’s daughter, but he was willing to give it a try.

“Not really.” she countered. “There are only 22 types of fish in here, the lights make them look different.”

“Lights make everything look different.” he tried in a suave way, but knew very well that he failed. It was a lame thing to say. He was off his game. “Fireworks were really good.”

“Yeah.” she nodded in agreement as he turned in her direction. “So patriotic, we celebrate our nation’s independence with fireworks and hotdogs. I’m sure the founding fathers are turning in their graves at the thought of it. I’m not exactly sure if they have graves. Do they have graves?” she asked but continued without waiting for a response. “History hasn’t been my strongest area of expertise.”

“What is the strongest one?” he asked out of curiosity.

“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” she smirked at him. “No, no I won’t. I was just joking.” She waved her hands.

It wasn’t like he took her threat seriously, but even her attempt bemused Oliver. She wasn’t a threat at all, she couldn’t be. He, on the other hand, had taken lives. He didn’t tell her that, obviously. “I was scared for a second there.” he teased.

“I might look small and defenseless, but I can be very threatening with a laptop in my hands. Yet that’s another story.” she said. “Hi, I’m Megan.” she added with a smile, holding her hand out for a handshake.

She was using a different name, Oliver realized. He had gone through her file from cover to cover several times. Her name was Felicity. He was sure the beautiful woman standing before him was Felicity Darkh, born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990 to Damien and Donna Darkh. Her name wasn’t Megan. Oliver realized that she was doing it on purpose. Maybe she had realized what he was trying to do. Or maybe her father was making her use a different name. He didn’t know. Just to be cautious, he decided to follow suit. He opted for his middle name. “I’m Jonas.”

“Nice meeting you.” she commented as their hands touched for more than necessary. “What are you doing in Hong Kong?” she asked as their hands parted.

“Some freelance work.” Oliver made up a response. He should have worked on a fake backstory for himself to sound more convincing instead of spending hours looking at her photo and memorizing every detail. Like the dimples she had in her cheeks that he wanted to see with his own eyes. Or that dark spot on her nose he was sure was a freckle. “You?” he asked in an attempt to deflect.

“Family business.” she replied.

Oliver nodded. They were both lying to one another now. He needed to keep up and give believable lies to avoid any suspicion. “Sounds good.” he responded, trying to think of another subject. “The party seems nice, the fireworks were really spectacular. I haven’t seen any for a while.” he said, his lies mixing with his truths.

“The embassy here does it every year.” she responded. “I’m going to get a drink, do you want some? I’m thirsty. Not that I drink champagne to quench my thirst. I’m not an alcoholic.”

Oliver smirked despite himself. “I’d love another drink. Let me go get them.” he offered instead, trying to be a gentleman. He spotted a waiter and stepped away from her for a second and then returned to where they were standing before the fish tank with two glasses of champagne. He handed her one of the glasses and their hands touched for a second again, the brief sensation surprising Oliver. There was just something about her.

“Cheers.” She raised her glass and clinked it with his. “Here’s to being strangers in a strange land.”

“To being strangers in a strange land.” he repeated before taking a sip from his drink, never taking his eyes off her. “That’s a nice toast.”

“It’s a book.” she responded. “A sci-fi.” she added, probably after seeing the look of confusion on his face. Even though _The Odyssey_ had saved his life back on the island, books really hadn’t been his forte. “You should read it, it’s good.”

“I’ll check it out.” he smiled at her, making a mental note of the book and making sure he read it when he gained his freedom and settled back into civilization. “How do you know the ambassador?” he asked, trying to gather more information about her and at least do another part of his mission.

“Oh.” she gasped and then thought for a moment. “My parents. You?”

“My family.” he lied. He couldn’t really tell her that he was working for a secret organization trying to take the ambassador, her father, down even though something really made him want to tell her everything. “We used to spend holidays at their summer house when I was a kid. I really loved that place.”

Seeing the look of surprise and confusion on her face confirmed all his suspicions. She was indeed Felicity Darkh, the ambassador’s daughter, his target and she was failing with her fake story. “I didn’t know that.” she managed to say.

“I had great days there.” he continued. “He threw the best parties even back then.”

“I’m sure.” she said and took a large sip from her champagne. “So you don’t go there anymore?”

“It has been a while.” he responded. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been on vacation with his family.

"I don't remember the last time I was on vacation.” she offered. “I just want to go to a beach and spend a day just laying down and drinking pina coladas. Or water, since heat and alcohol is not a good combination, I should know. But the doing nothing on a beach part stays.”

That made him snicker. “Did you have a bad experience with alcohol in the heat?”

She smiled and lowered her voice. “Let’s just say there was an incident a few years ago during spring break that I would never want to relive or talk about again.”

Oliver smiled at that again. He had quite a few similar stories he could tell himself. He was about to open his mouth to say something when the music suddenly stopped. “What’s happening?” he asked.

“The party is over.” she shrugged.

“Wait, why? It’s not even midnight.” he argued.

Felicity just gave him a nonchalant look. “It’s the Ambassador’s residence, he can do whatever he wants. Didn’t he do this at his other parties?”

"No." he responded. "I guess it's time for me to Cinderella myself back to my cabbage carriage, huh?"

She laughed. “I hope your shoes aren’t really made of glass.” she said with a smile. “And it wasn’t a cabbage really, it’s a pumpkin in the original story.”

“My sister made me watch the Disney version, I really don’t remember the details.” he responded. “I’d better get going then.”

Her face turned grim for a second, then she nodded. “Yeah.” Her voice came as a sigh.

The party was over, people were leaving. He didn't want to go, he wanted to remain with her and keep talking to her. He needed a way to keep in touch with her, to make sure she would want to continue seeing him afterwards. He didn't have many options as his time was limited, so he decided to use a page from his old playbooks. “I can leave my number with you, instead of a glass slipper. It’d make tracking me easier.” he offered, his voice sounding hopeful. He did want to keep contact with her, and not just because of the mission. She was interesting and despite his initial intentions, he enjoyed talking to her, regardless of how brief it had been.

She smiled at him and was about to open her mouth, to say something positive he hoped, when there was a noise behind them. They both turned their attentions to the noise. Oliver’s eyes met Damien Darkh’s. He was looking at the both of them, an angry look on his face. When he turned to look at Felicity, the smile was gone from her face.

“It was nice meeting you, Jonah. I… I have to go.” she said and rushed away from him. Oliver watched as she walked toward her father then disappeared among the crowd.

Oliver’s mission was done. At least for the night. Yet he couldn't help but feel defeated. It had been a long while since he had truly enjoyed himself like he did tonight. He wanted more time, more time to enjoy himself, more time to talk to Felicity, but Felicity was already gone, along with Darkh. He needed to go back, return to A.R.G.U.S, meet with Waller. and let them know that Damien Darkh and his daughter were in Hong Kong and he had established contact. The first part of his mission was complete. He now had six more days to get all the information he could about Damien Darkh from Felicity. He was done for the night.

He followed the crowd out of the mansion and made his way outside to where Thing 1 and 2 were waiting for him in the black car they dropped him off with. He crossed the street, looked around to make sure nobody was looking and got inside the car, seating himself at the back.

“How was your night, Pretty Boy?” Thing 2 asked him as 1 revved the engine. They took off in silence when Oliver didn’t respond.

He kept his eyes glued to the windows, watching the lights out in the city as they passed by. There were not many people outside, no fireworks, no beautiful women with blonde hair and a pretty smile. His hands itched as he placed one on the door.

He didn’t think. He opened the door, jumped off the car and started running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I had problems writing the dialogue for some reason. Hope you enjoy it! Please leave a comment


	4. The Revelation

**Chapter 4 – The Revelation**

He ran, ignoring how uncomfortable his shoes were for running, ignoring how much in trouble he’d get once Thing 1 and 2 realized what he did. He ran with the wind on his face, without a real plan. He ran back to the residence for a chance to see her again.

Breaking into a heavily guarded residence that was technically American soil was easier than he thought it would be. For an ambassador who was in the midst of a gang war and needed extra protection, his residence was easy to get into. There were only two security cameras outside the gates and they were surveilling opposite directions. Standing between them, under their blindspot, Oliver threw his jacket over the spikes on top of the wrought iron fences, a move he had seen in action movies he used to watch with Tommy and climbed over them. He landed on the grass softly and moved without making any noise closer to the mansion. He was sure just being on the lawn was an act of terrorism even though he was an American, but he didn’t care.

He didn’t have a plan. He just knew that he wanted to see Felicity again, and not necessarily because he was on a mission. Climbing up into her room had sounded like a good idea in his mind while he was running the streets of Hong Kong. Now as he watched the guards doing their rounds and noticing their patterns to find a space to enter the mansion unnoticed, he realized he had been stupid. He didn’t know the layout of the mansion, he didn’t know about guards, he didn’t know where her room was. He looked up to the windows to catch a glimpse of her, but all lights were turned off, a large contrast to the glamour and liveliness of an hour earlier.

He heard a noise and then she showed up. At a balcony on his right. It was a small balcony. There were no lights, nothing to illuminate the darkness, but it was her. He could see her silhouette, could see her glasses reflecting the moonlight. She was wearing a short robe that was wrapped tightly around her slender body. She stayed out on the balcony for a minute then entered back inside, closing the doors behind her.

He stayed in his position, examining his surroundings to figure out how he could enter her room. There was a large window right under the balcony but it didn’t have anything for him to climb on. There was a window right next to the balcony that was half open. Oliver decided that he was going to enter through that window, he just didn’t know how. He then noticed a large pipe next to the window, going down from the roof all the way to the ground.

He watched the guards again, figuring out their routine and timed them. He had exactly one minute as an opening while the guards stood at the opposite ends of the garden, their backs turned to each other. Taking a deep breath, Oliver made a run for it and made it to the pipe and climbed it with slight difficulty. Just as he was trying to reach for the window, the guard on the east side turned. He held the pipe tightly, praying to whatever out there that would help him not get noticed. The guard didn’t notice him and instead lighted a cigarette.

He reached for the window and pulled himself by holding the sill. The window turned out to be lower than he expected and he fell inside on the floor as a heap, making all his stealth irrelevant.

"Who is there?" He heard a voice; a voice now familiar to him sounding scared. He got on his feet and rushed towards the direction of the voice, to the bed and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Shhh, Felicity, it’s me.” he said in a low voice. Only after saying it he realized that he had used her real name, blowing up the cover he had spent an entire night to build.

"Oliver, what are you doing here?" she asked in a hushed voice when he lifted his hand off her soft mouth. It took him a moment to figure out what she had said. She knew who he was. He sank on the bed next to her and just stared at her.

“You know who I am?” he asked.

“Of course I know who you are.” she answered, stating a fact. “I’ve been living under house arrest for two years now, not under a rock. I saw your death on TV. You aren’t dead though. Why aren’t you dead? Not that I wanted you dead.”

Oliver tilted his head and just looked at her in the dark. He was in her room, invading her personal space after spending an hour lying to her face and now she was in front of him, revealing that she had been equally lying herself. They knew the truth about each other, knew that they were both liars, maybe not really good at it, but it wasn’t a revelation. It was simply a truth. She knew that he had lied about his identity, he knew that she had kept the truth about being the Ambassador’s daughter.

"Why didn't you say something?" Oliver asked, unsure of what else to say.

“It was obvious you were trying to hide your identity.” she said as she got into a seating position on the bed, keeping close proximity to him. “And I wasn’t exactly sure, because you’re supposed to be dead. It was a big deal back in the States when your death was announced. How are you still alive and here?” she asked.

Oliver sighed as he got on his feet, stepping away from the bed. He was in her bedroom, she was in her bed and was wearing a camisole from what he could see. He needed to be focused, he needed to resist temptation. “It’s a long story.” he answered. “Let’s just say I didn’t go down with the ship.”

In the darkness, he saw her nod. “And you know who I am?” she asked.

“You’re Felicity.” he simply offered, not assigning any titles, connections to her.

She got out of the bed, picked up the robe he saw her wearing on the balcony and put it on. “I’m the daughter of Ambassador Damien Darkh, which means that you really shouldn’t be here.”

Even though what she said sounded like a warning, Oliver could easily hear the sadness laced in her tone. She didn’t sound like she was proud of being the daughter of the ambassador. “I wanted to see you.” he told her, being truthful.

“Why?” she asked, then continued before he could respond. “So that I could talk more nonsense about pet fish and then reveal drunken stories while making an idiot of myself with rambling about why you should be dead? Like I am doing right now. Which I am stopping in 3, 2, 1.”

He let out of a quiet laughter. “Something like that.” he admitted. “No, I just, I really liked talking to you. And we didn’t get to talk much.”

“So you decided to stay behind and break into my room?”

He smiled though he wasn’t sure if she could see his smile. “I actually first broke into the residence, then into your room.”

"That made it sound better." she said, teasing him. “So Oliver Queen, what are you doing in Hong Kong? Freelance work?” She sat down on an armchair while he opted for the floor.

If Oliver could tell the truth, Felicity would be the one he would tell. He would tell her how Queen’s Gambit went down, how his father shot himself in the head to save him, how he met Yao Fei who helped him then died, how he developed feelings for Shado, how he met Slade, how he became brothers with Slade, how he disappointed Slade and killed him in the end, how his girlfriend’s sister seemed to drown before his eyes only to survive and drown again. He would tell her how he was on yet another sinking ship then opened his eyes in Hong Kong, how A.R.G.U.S. was threatening him to keep him working for them, how they were using him to gather information about Damien Darkh through her.

But he couldn’t. “It’s…” he started. “It’s complicated.” He shrugged. That was all he could tell her no matter how much he yearned to tell her more. “Why are you under house arrest?”

“It’s complicated.” She repeated his words back to him. “Let’s just say you probably saw more of Hong Kong than I did.”

Her sentiment broke Oliver’s heart. They were both imprisoned, in different ways, but at least he had been given the opportunity to see some of the city during his missions. From what he knew, and what she confirmed, she had been taken from the States directly to the residence two years ago and hadn’t stepped out ever since. She was her father’s captive, he didn’t know the reasons why.

“Can I trust you? I know we’ve been lying to each other all night, yet I feel like I can still trust you. Why is that?”

Oliver smirked. “I have one of those faces.” Felicity stood up and walked over to him. In the darkness of the room, he could easily see that she was not delighted by his response. “Sorry.” he said. “Yes, you can trust me.” he offered even though deep down he knew he was the last person she needed to trust. He had taken lives, he had broken people’s trust, he had an agenda to be around her. Yet the sincerity in her voice made him want her to confide in him. And he wanted to confide in her 

She sat down on the floor cross-legged opposite to him. They looked at each other for a moment before she spoke. “Oliver, I really did like talking to you and I’m flattered that you came here but you need to leave, now. My father… if he finds out you’re here.” she told him, her voice controlled and calm. “Leave Oliver, before something terrible happens.” she reached out to him and placed her soft hand on his open palm.

“I’ll be fine, Felicity.”

“No, Oliver, you don’t understand. My father, he is dangerous.” Her words came out rushed. “I know I’ve known you only for a few hours now but I really don’t want to see you get hurt. Just go now, alright?”

"Felicity –“ he began to argue.

“Oliver, please.” she repeated. “It’s not safe here. Just leave and forget about me, okay?”

She sounded so sad. She was pleading with him to leave at once, to forget about him. Oliver couldn’t. It wasn’t because of his mission. He needed to keep in touch with her to gather information about her father, but it was more than that. Oliver wanted to help her. She was a beautiful, smart woman and was kept imprisoned in a house in a foreign country by her own father. She didn’t deserve that, nobody did. Oliver decided that he would do anything to save her, even if she disagreed.

“Okay, I’ll leave.” he said. “But for now.” he added in a lower voice as he got on his feet. “I want to see you again.”

“Oh.” was her reaction as she craned her neck to look up at him. “You really want to cheat death again, huh? Well, it’s your funeral buddy.” she teased as she got on her feet and stood shorter barefoot in front of him. “Too soon?” she tilted her head.

Oliver couldn’t help but let a laughter out. “It won’t be the last time I tried cheating death. At least it’ll be for a good cause.” he told her, looking right at him. “Good night Felicity. I’ll see you later.”

“You’re really asking for it. And by it I mean asking for trouble, not sex. We just met, there won’t be any sex any time soon. Not that I thought about having sex with you, or am planning on it. I mean, I’m sure it’d be great because look at you… I’m going to shut up now.” Her words came rushed out, bewildering Oliver for a moment. She was talking about sleeping with him. He really needed to leave at once to resist temptation.

He smiled at her and moved towards the window and got out of the residence the same way he broke in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! We're going to learn why Felicity is under house arrest and how Oliver will attempt to to break her out soon.  
> Leave a comment and make a grad school student's life less miserable!!


	5. The Intermission

**Chapter 5 – The Intermission**

The pain started in his stomach and traveled in phases to all over his body. He felt it in his legs, in his chest, in his fingertips. He knew there was a bruise forming already. He knew blood was about to come from his mouth. It didn’t stop them.

Another punch followed, so soon after the last one. He felt air leaving his lungs for a moment. Everything hurt more as he gasped for oxygen.

Sweat was dripping from face, from his chest. He closed his eyes tightly and winced.

“Mr. Queen, does this teach you a lesson about your stupid behavior from last night?” Waller asked, standing at the back of the room, away from where he was held up by chains, probably to avoid getting sweat and blood on her designer clothes. Waller loved getting people to do her dirty work for her but wanted her hands, and clothes, clean from the dirt.

Oliver spat on the floor, trying to aim as close as he could get to Waller. The look on Waller’s face made the pain he felt worth it, if only for a moment. “I was doing what you told me to do, Amanda.” he responded, his voice groggy and foreign to his own ears.

“That’s Ms. Waller for you.” she replied at once. “How is breaking into American soil a part of what you’ve been assigned to? How stupid can you be?”

Thing 1 moved close to him. Oliver braced himself for another punch but instead he unlocked the chains holding him. Oliver lost his footing and collapsed on the floor, then started rubbing his wrists as he pulled himself into a seated position. “The party ended an hour after I arrived, I didn’t have enough time.”

"It was more than enough time." Waller protested.

“Not enough time to gain her trust.” Oliver said. “I talked to her, piqued her interest, but then the party ended. I needed more time.”

“So you broke into the residence?”

“I needed to do something.” Oliver explained. “She seemed interested, but not enough to seal the deal.”

Waller looked surprised. “You sealed the deal?” she asked in disbelief.

“You ordered me to seduce her, didn’t you?” Oliver lied. He needed Waller to believe that he had broken into the residence to sleep with Felicity, to play from his old playbooks and wrap her around his finger. He wasn’t going to tell her what really happened, no.

“And you did?” Waller asked again.

“I don’t kiss and tell, Amanda.” Oliver suggested, using his teasing tone. He was faking to be the playboy he used to be, the playboy Waller thought he was. He wasn’t that guy anymore, but Waller and A.R.G.U.S. didn’t need to know that and he was going to act as long as they bought his lies.

“When are you going to see her again?”

“I’m planning on going back to the residence again tonight.” Oliver responded as Thing 2 brought a metal chair for him to sit. He got on his feet, ignoring all the pain he felt and sat.

"You aren't taking her out?"

“She is under house arrest, Waller, she can’t get out.” he responded. He sounded defensive of Felicity while he needed to act aloof. “So I’m bringing myself to her.” he added with a smirk in order to hide his real emotions about Felicity’s situation. “Girls love it when you bring the game to them.”

“I don’t need to know about your ways, Mr. Queen, just get the job down and do whatever is necessary.” she folded her arms again.

“Don’t worry, she's hooked already. She’ll be giving me access to her father’s bank accounts by the end of the week.”

Waller seemed pleased with his comment. She nodded at him, then nodded at Thing 1 and 2. “Take him back to the safe house and give him some clean clothes.” she ordered them. “Clean yourself Mr. Queen, you have a job to do.”

Thing 1 and 2 came to his sides and lifted him up, then pushed him so that he was walking before them. Every step he took hurt. He winced and stepped outside the abandoned building into the sunlight. The usual car was waiting across the street.

The drive was silent, as Oliver expected. He focused on everything he saw out on the streets to keep his mind off the pain he was in. Thing 1 and 2 had refused to listen to him and reported him to Waller instead, resulting in the beating he had received in their hands. He was in Hong Kong, kept by A.R.G.U.S. against his will and was getting beaten for trying to work on the mission he was forced to do. He had learned through trial after trial on Lian Yu that there was no justice on earth and that he couldn’t trust anyone. His time in Hong Kong had been an extension of it.

He entered the safe house he had arrived late last night after running through the streets of Hong Kong after his late night visit to Felicity. Thing 1 and 2 had been waiting for him, their guns pointed at him. Now he was entering with them following him closely. Once he entered the bedroom assigned to him, they gave him some space. He threw himself on the bed that wasn’t as comfortable as it looked and rested for a bit. He then took a long shower, enjoying the hot water cascading over his aching body.

“You can find your way to the residence yourself.” Thing 1 said as he stepped to the living area, waiting for their directions.

“The residence is 3 miles away.” Oliver responded, taken aback. He was used to having Thing 1 and 2 follow him like a shadow every step he took in Hong Kong, except from when he had jumped off to car to go see Felicity. Now they were allowing him to do whatever he wanted. There was a flaw in their thinking though. “I don’t have any money.”

“Little rich boy doesn’t have any money for the bus? Have you even ever been on a bus?” Thing 2 teased him as he gulped down his beer.

“You made it back him from the residence last night, you can do it again.” Thing 1 commented.

Oliver smirked. “What if I escape and never come back?”

“We’ll find you anyways and make sure nobody can even recognize your dead body.”

The threat was straightforward but Oliver didn’t get bothered by it. He was already used to threats made on his life and for a moment wondered what was the exact moment when his life shifted from its course and threats on his life became a daily occurrence, something he shrugged about. He figured it was at some point after Queen’s Gambit sank and before he landed on Lian Yu.

“Then I’d better get going.” Oliver said. He was wearing Chucks which would make walking bearable and a beanie to control his unruly hair. His hair situation was getting ridiculous but he didn’t know what to do about it. He decided he’d get to it the next day.

He nodded at Thing 1 and 2 who didn’t move from their places on the couch and left the house. He walked through the streets with his hands in his pockets, keeping his head down. He was hungry but he didn’t have any money to buy food. He thought about the times back on the island when he had starved. In comparison, he was now at a better position because he still had a house to go back to with access to food. He didn’t have to set traps to catch animals to cook and eat.  

He felt pain leave his body the closer he got to the residence. It was getting dark already and the prospect of seeing Felicity again was making him forget about the beating he had received earlier.

Streetlights were on and the sun was gone by the time he reached the residence. He checked the periphery and was glad to find out that there had been no changes to the security situation from the night before. The blind spots were still there, the same security guards were around with the same routine. Felicity’s lights were on, which was the only fault in his plan. He couldn’t enter with the lights on. So he decided to wait until they were off. He perched on the sidewalk, hiding himself behind a car and waited.

He didn’t have a watch, but it felt like an hour had passed when the light was finally turned off. He looked around, making sure there was no danger and made his way in through the same way. He climbed up the pipe and entered through the window.

“Took you long enough.” came a voice. He looked up and saw Felicity sitting at the edge of her bed in the dark. The en suite bathroom’s light was on, illuminating the room a little bit. “I saw you waiting outside like an hour ago.”

“The light was on. I can’t be on stealth mode in the light.” he responded teasingly as he got on his feet, wincing as his body remembered the pain he was in.

“Are you hurt, what happened?” she asked, sounding concerned as she walked towards him. She stopped as light illuminated his face. “Come on.” she held out a hand for him.

Oliver stared at her hand. She was holding out her hand, a gesture of offer for help. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone genuinely wanted to help him. Hesitantly he held out his hand and held hers, relishing the softness, warmth of her tiny hand and followed her to the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter! Hope you all like it! Thanks so much for reading and commenting (and I'm sorry I'm terrible with replying to comments).


	6. The Conversation

**Chapter 6 – The Conversation**

Sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, Oliver looked around, mesmerized. The bathroom was small, much smaller than any of those back in the Queen mansion, featuring a shower stall and a big vanity mirror over the sink, but with the pink shower curtains and the soft shower mat under his feet, it felt cosy, as cosy as a bathroom could be.

“This is going to hurt, sorry.” Felicity said as she stood before him with a cotton ball in her hands. She placed one hand under his chin to turn his head towards her and with the other hand, she slowly rubbed the cotton with the antiseptic. Oliver winced as the antiseptic stung the small cut he had on his temple, courtesy of Thing 2’s horrible aim when it came to punching. Feeling the softness of Felicity’s hand on his face, Oliver didn’t feel any pain. He had forgotten what tenderness felt like.

“You really didn’t have to do this.” Oliver said as he looked up to her face. She wasn’t wearing any make-up, making her look younger than she did at the party the night before. She was beautiful.

“It’s been a long time since I got to play doctor with someone.” she responded, then her cheeks reddened at once. “I mean, like I am nursing you. Not that I’m nursing you nursing you, there are no boobs involved with what I’m doing here. I’m just patching you up.” she paused herself. “My mouth gets the best of me sometimes.”

Oliver bit down the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. “I really appreciate it.”

"It's the least I can do given how you refuse to listen to me and keep coming back here like an idiot.” She turned her back and threw the cotton ball into the small trash can. “Did my father’s men do this?” she asked and Oliver shook his head. “Who then?”

“My employers.” he simply answered.

“Your employers suck, then. I thought you were doing freelance? You need to look for other employment options.”

Oliver smiled at that. "Believe me, I would look for other options if I could.”

Felicity gave him a sympathetic look, then picked up a washcloth and put it under the running water. She had turned on the faucet to prevent her father and his men from hearing them. She then brought the cloth to his face and wiped up the dirt and sweat off his face. Oliver couldn’t help but be grateful. He had met her only the night before and she was already the only person who showed compassion for him in the last two years. She made him regain a brief faith in humanity.

"You aren't going to tell me about them, are you?” she asked.

Oliver was hit again with the desire to tell her about everything. Yet for the exact reasons why she made him hopeful, he couldn’t tell her. He didn’t want her to be tainted with the darkness he had been experiencing ever since Queen’s Gambit sank. “I will tell you when you tell me why you are under house arrest.” he told her, turning the tables around.

“So, probably never?”

Oliver didn’t answer, he just looked at her. She already knew him as well as he knew her. They were both secretive, not telling each other their stories but there was still a trust formed between the two of them. For Oliver, who had learned through worst kinds of experiences that trust was hard to earn and to give, the trust between him and Felicity meant everything in a world where he had nothing and nobody.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile then got on his feet and stood before her. He took the advantage of the light in the bathroom to take a true look at her. Her hair was down, blonde locks cascading down her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, or any make up. She looked younger than she was, and more innocent. Oliver hated himself and her father for attempting to taint her life. She was beautiful and pure and didn’t deserve to be put under house arrest and also be pursued by A.R.G.U.S. to gain information about her father. Oliver wished he could take her away, all the way from Hong Kong where she would be safe from the clutches of her father and the evil organization that was forcing Oliver to do missions that included her.

However Oliver was stuck in Hong Kong, without any money, without any connections, without his family and friends knowing he was alive, with his life being threatened by A.R.G.U.S. unable to rescue himself, let alone others.

“Things happened.” Oliver started as he leaned against the sink with the running water. Felicity looked at him, a sympathetic look adorning her beautiful face and leaned against the wall opposite to him, putting a much needed space between the two of them. “I was on the Queen’s Gambit with my father, yes.” he started. “Then the boat capsized and I was out on the water on a raft for days, just drifting.” he added, skipping crucial details mostly to spare himself the pain and the guilt. “I made it to an island.”

Felicity listened with intent, never breaking off eye contact with him even when he avoided her sympathetic eyes. There was no judgment on her face. Over the last two years, he had told different versions of his story, usually not with intent, to several people and he had never seen sympathy on their faces, except from Shado. Now Felicity was before him and she looked like she wanted to share the constant guilt he felt.

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.” Felicity told him as she reached out and put a hand on his. “We literally just met yesterday and you have no reason to trust me and tell me all these terrible things that happened to you while you are in my bathroom with a gash on your temple and probably bruised ribs.” she added in a rush. “I know how difficult it is to talk about the past.”

“Is that why you won’t tell me why you’re in house arrest?” Oliver asked again.

She shook her head. “That, and the fact that we met less than twenty-four hours ago.” she admitted. “We are virtually strangers, I don’t feel comfortable with unburdening all my burdens to a stranger regardless of how hot they are and how tragic their past experiences might be.”

A smirk appeared on Oliver’s face. “Hot?”

She pointed a finger at him, flicking it up and down. “Look at you. Even with that ridiculous hair, you’re rocking the bruised and battered look.” she said, then her cheeks got all red.

Oliver felt shy for a moment, something he wasn't used to. He was used to getting compliments about his looks and how he appeared to women had been one of his so-called charming techniques. Yet it had been a long time since a woman, especially someone as beautiful as Felicity was, had commented on his physical appearance. He didn’t like how he looked in the mirror, not anymore, but to Felicity, he was hot. So he pursed his lips and tried to smile. “I definitely need to do something about the hair.” he commented, sparing both of them the pain of making things further awkward.

“I’d help you, but I am not really good with scissoring.” she said, then clamped a hand on her mouth, realizing what she said. “I totally didn’t mean it that way, I meant with cutting things. I haven't had any lesbian experiences so I don't know whether I am good at scissoring... I’m not going to speak again, no.”

Oliver let out a slighter laughter despite himself, suddenly taken over by mirth. She was beautiful and smart and her mouth had a peculiar way with words. She amused him. He liked that. “I’d better get going.” he announced and couldn’t help but notice the brief look of disappointment on her face. “Can I come by again tomorrow?”

She remained silent for a moment, probably insisting on not wanting to speak again, but then gave him an answer. “It’s not like I can stop you. You don’t listen to my warnings.”

"I haven't really been good with following orders."

“That explains the bruises.” she responded. Oliver didn’t say anything, simply nodded. He followed her out of the bathroom, then made his way out of the residence. It was only when he was halfway back to the safe house that Oliver realized the deeper meaning of Felicity’s last words. She knew something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank the dark lord for SDCC. How are you all excited for a domesticated Oliver on his path to become Green Arrow?
> 
> Many thanks for reading. I am sorry I am very slow with this but with work and also grad school, I don't have much time to spare. Please comment if you read this chapter (and I promise I will reply - I am generally terrible with responding).


	7. The Suggestion

**Chapter 7 – The Suggestion**  
  
Oliver climbed up the pipe to her room with caution. There was again the light coming from the bathroom and Felicity was again sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting for him. She was wearing different sleepwear now, with long bottoms with what seemed to be Matryoshka dolls on them and a cardigan. It was a cold night, so the change in her sleep attire made sense. Her hair was in a ponytail and her glasses were on. In silence she walked to the bathroom, prompting him to follow her. Oliver took off his jacket and laid it on her bed, then entered the bathroom behind her.  
  
“How was your day?” Felicity asked, sounding chipper, making him feel lighter at once. “No new bruises, that’s always a good sign.”  
  
Oliver smiled at her as he took his now usual spot against the sink. He took a look at Felicity, as if seeking her approval, then turned on the faucet. He watched the water flow for a moment, then turned back to her. “No new bruises, it’s been a good day.” he confirmed. “How was your day? Anything new in the residence?”  
  
She shook her head, giving him an innocent look. “We are getting new cutlery for the dining room. And I offered my ideas for the new wallpapers in the library.” she responded, as if renovations were the most normal thing to talk about in their lives of imprisonment. “You are early today.”  
  
"I didn't have anything to do and wanted to see you." Oliver admitted. He was being honest. He had known Felicity for almost seventy-two hours now and felt drawn to her. He wanted to see her. The A.R.G.U.S. mission was the last thing on his mind even though he had a suspicion that maybe Felicity was on to him.  
  
“How was the weather outside? I can’t go out much so I don’t know how it feels out but it was so cold in the residence today.”  
  
“It was pretty chilly, yes.” Oliver responded. “The temperature suddenly dropped overnight.” he added, remembering how cold he was on his way back to the safe house the night before. He then pondered upon how nice it was nice just to talk about weather, about something so simple. Then he was reminded that Felicity, being under house arrest, living in a residence populated by armed-men was not able to experience the weather herself as one should. It was then he decided that he was going to learn about why she was under house arrest and try to help her even if it meant affecting the trust he and Felicity had built over the last few days.  
  
“The air-conditioning in this stupid place makes it worse, it gets colder than it is outside. And when it is warm outside, it is like a sauna here. I’d rather be in a sauna now even though I’m not the biggest fan of saunas. Who came up with the idea of sitting in a room filled with hot air anyway? There is actually a sauna here, but it is in one section of the residence I’m not allowed to enter.”    
  
Oliver took that as his chance to pry into her personal affairs. “Why aren’t you allowed there?” he asked gingerly, trying not to push his luck by being too intrusive.  
  
“That’s where my dad does his business.” she answered, stepped away from him to sit on the closed toilet seat, where he sat as she took care of him the night before. She looked at him over her glasses.  
  
“His ambassodoring?” he asked, turning in her direction.  
  
“I don’t think that’s a word.” she laughed. “Yes, he does his ambassodoring from there, along with his other side businesses.” she explained.  
  
He took a breath. "What side businesses?” he asked, acting coy.  
  
She tilted her head in response. “As if you don’t know.”  
  
To say that Oliver was surprised was an understatement. He tried to remain nonchalant, tried not to give away. She knew. He was busted. He tried to keep himself calm and asked under his breath, “What are you talking about?”  
  
“Oliver.” she started, getting up from the toilet seat to stand directly before him. She was much shorter than he was, but she used her height to her advantage to intimidate him. He wouldn’t admit it freely, but it worked. “You knew who I am. You knew my name.”  
  
“So?”  
  
“You had information on me. I’ve been in house arrest for two years, nobody even knows I’m here in Hong Kong but you found me out. And you broke into the residence with ease? What are you, CIA? Military? Secret Service?”  
  
Oliver had figured out Felicity was smart even before meeting her, but he hadn’t expected that she would be able to figure out that he knew about her father’s side business. He was a terrible liar and had terribly underestimated her. She knew he was up to something. He wondered how long it would take for her to tell him on her father and his men. He needed to plan to leave quickly without getting captured. He looked around, worrying about every possible action in silence.  
  
When he didn’t answer and refused to make any eye contact with her, Felicity continued. “You’re not the only one who approached me with ulterior motives.” she said, her tone laced with sadness. Only then Oliver looked at her, in shame.  
  
“Felicity, I-” Oliver started, not really knowing what to say.  
  
“It’s okay, really.” Felicity answered the question he didn’t ask. “Look, it wasn’t too difficult for me to figure out you were after something. I’m some sort of a genius, but it doesn’t take a genius to see how hard you were trying to make sure nobody recognized you at the party. I really liked talking to you and I would have done something if I wanted you gone. I know you’re after my dad. I haven’t told about you to anyone and I’m not going to.” she said. “You can trust me.”  
  
Oliver unashamedly gaped at her. The woman standing before him knew that he had lied to her, that he was harboring secrets and that he had initially a hidden agenda to be around her, but there she was, looking up at him, asking her to trust him with his secret when Oliver knew she didn’t have to trust him in the first place. “Felicity, you’re remarkable.” He found himself saying even though he knew he should have led with an apology.  
  
“Thank you for remarking on it.” she responded with a smile. “You don’t have to tell me who hired you, I know they must be dangerous people if they ended up beating you. I’ll keep your secret.” she assured him, then continued. “I just want something in return.”  
  
He wasn’t expecting her to ask something of him, but he nodded. “Anything.” he told her. She didn’t know the details but she knew he was after his father and she was going to let him. He could do anything she asked, that was the least he could do.  
  
She took her time to answer with her request. She seemed to be uncomfortable and that worried Oliver. He had no idea to figure out what she was going to ask. “Take me out.” she blurted. “Not like, take me out on a date. Just get me out of the residence, even for a night.”  
  
She sounded like she was pleading. It was an easy request, but also very dangerous. He had no difficulties of getting in and out of the residence himself, but he wasn’t sure if he could do it with her accompanying him.  
  
He had already promised her that he would do anything in exchange of her keeping silent about him. Yet it was more than that, Oliver did want to do something nice for her. He wanted to get her away from the residence, from the house-arrest for good, not just for one night. He wanted to get her as far away as possible from her father. Taking her out, showing her the city just for one night was the least he could do. And he wanted to do it, to go out in the city with her, show her sights, enjoy her conversation out in the open and just for one night feel like a normal person, like a free person.  
  
“Okay.” he replied, his voice low.  
  
The corners of Felicity's mouth immediately rose upwards, brightening up her face. She hopped in her place for a few seconds, then she wrapped her arms around him in full force, resting her head against his chest. “Thank you, thank you so much.” Her voice came muffled.  
  
Oliver couldn't react. He couldn't say anything for a moment. He didn’t know what to do with his hands. She was warm and against him and so happy. She was hugging him, genuinely. Oliver had forgotten how that felt like. “You’re welcome.” his response came out in an unsure tone. She released him and moved away from him. Oliver tried his best to hide his disappointment from the lack of contact. “Don’t thank me now, though. We need to plan on this.”    
  
She understood. "We will, tomorrow.” she replied.  
  
“Tomorrow.” Oliver echoed. “Until then.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what is the plan? How are they going to get out? Where are they gonna go? 
> 
> Leave a comment to make a grad school student's week!


	8. The Implementation

**Chapter 8 – The Implementation**  
  
“Okay, I get it, you don’t have to repeat it a million times.” she protested for what he counted as the fourth time. “Didn’t I tell you?” she asked, then pointed an index finger at herself. “Genius.” she deadpanned. “High IQ points also comes with great memory. I got it after the first time you told me, you didn’t have to repeat.”  
  
“I’m just trying to make sure everything is perfect.” he said. “Any wrong move will get both of us in trouble and I want none of that.”  
  
She leaned toward the Hong Kong map he had brought. “I know that, and I appreciate your concern. I just hate hearing things repeated over and over again no matter how nice your voice sounds.” she explained. “And I said that out loud, didn’t I?”  
  
He huffed a laugh. “Believe me, I don’t like repeating myself either, but I have to make sure we have all our fronts covered. This is dangerous, Felicity. I’ve been in danger many, many times and there were times I couldn’t help others. I don’t know what I’ll do if you get in harm’s way just because I wasn’t diligent.”  
  
“I’m already in harm’s way in my own house.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “My life, my choice.”  
  
Oliver didn’t respond. Felicity was stubborn, a trait he thought that would come handy to succeed with their plan. They had already spent the entire night before coming up with the plan and strategizing it. He was going over the details for the final time before they started it. “Are you ready?” he asked.  
  
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready is my middle name.” she answered. “It’s actually Megan, but you already know that.”    
  
They looked at each other in the darkness. They could do it. They could leave the residence together, get Felicity out, go see and enjoy Hong Kong and return before anyone could notice her disappearance. They needed to stick to the plan, which was relatively simple. Oliver had been a master of sneaking out of the Queen mansion in his younger days, before the shipwreck. Felicity was smart and trusted him. “Here we go.” he whispered before he opened her window. The two guards were on the either side of the garden, their bodies turned away from them. The fake cigarettes with tranquilizers in them Oliver had smuggled in and Felicity had exchanged with their usual ones were already working. The movements of the guards were slow even as they stood. Now was their chance.  
  
“Felicity, hold on to me tight.” Oliver instructed as he held out his hand and bended his knees a little to put an arm around her waist.  
  
“I imagined you saying that it other circumstances.” she whispered.  
  
Oliver kept himself from thinking about the implications of her words in order not to lose focus and got them out from her bedroom window down to the residence’s garden. Felicity let out the breath he knew she was holding when their feet touched the ground, then held his hand and ran with him to the wrought iron fences. He threw his jacket over the spikes like he did many times before and stood behind Felicity. “You can do this.” he encouraged her. The fences were the only thing standing between Felicity and her freedom for a night. She just needed to jump over.  
  
“I don’t think I can.” she shook her head. “I might be afraid of heights? I didn’t know I was but I might be.”  
  
“Felicity, that’s the fear talking.” he whispered to her ear, holding both her shoulders from where he stood behind her. “I’m here and I’m going to help you. You just need to jump, it’s a short fall.”  
  
He knew she was still hesitant, but that didn’t stop her from taking a step closer and holding the fences. Oliver scooted behind her and gripped her hips, then pushed her upwards so that in one movement, she was up, then above and over the fences. She landed on the other side gracefully, then held a fist in victory as she got on her feet. Oliver took a moment to smile at her before she ran across the street, then climbed over the fence himself like he had done numerous times in the last week and followed her to where she was hiding behind a parked car.  
  
"We did it, we did it!" she chanted in a quiet voice, hopping in her place.  
  
"We need to get out of here.” Oliver said as he got on his feet, holding out a hand. They started running, still holding hands. They ran without stopping through darkened streets, through alleys until they reached to buildings towering the city, their lights blinding their eyes. They finally stopped to catch their breaths. Oliver watched as Felicity took in everything with amazement. A smile was constant on her face. Her happiness seemed to be contagious as a smile appeared on his face, too.  
  
“Thank you.” she said, sounding like she was fighting tears. Oliver just nodded at her and placed a hand on her elbow, urging her to continue. They walked in silence through the streets, lights of the city providing entertainment. Oliver had been out in the city several times himself but never had had the chance to just pause and enjoy the sights. With her next to her, now he had the chance. “I'm so hot.” she exclaimed a moment later. Oliver gave her a look. “I wore the leather jacket to look blend in and look badass but damn, it’s too hot.”  
  
Oliver chuckled under his breath. She was having difficulty with removing one arm from the sleeve of the jacket, so Oliver helped her out, placing one hand on her shoulder to steady her and then pulling her arm out with the other. “Are you hungry?” he asked.  
  
She nodded. “I’m starving.”  
  
“What do you feel like?”  
  
She didn’t hesitate. “A burger. A huge, juicy American burger. And a milkshake.”  
  
Oliver knew just the place to go. He grabbed her hand and led her to the one restaurant Thing 1 and 2 had taken him with the best burger he had ever had. He probably had been to fancier places in his earlier life than the hole-in-the-wall burger place, but after two years of eating whatever he could hunt on the island, even the most basic food tasted the best.  
  
They walked in silence, a little urgency apparent in their steps. He was hungry, he didn’t remember eating lunch. They crossed streets and tall buildings and came to the small restaurant at a small alley. Felicity was all smiles as she entered inside and looked at everything, from the fluorescent lights to the vinyl seats in amazement. Neither of them spoke Chinese and they were the only non-local people in the restaurant, but it didn’t faze them. A shorter man in a long white apron pointed them to a table and handed them a menu all in Chinese.  
  
“Do you know Chinese?” Felicity asked in a whisper, as if the patrons of the restaurant could understand her.  
  
“No, I don’t.” he replied. “I’ve been here for six months and have been dealing with a lot of Chinese people but haven’t picked up the language.”  
  
“I’ll arrange some Rosetta Stone CDs for you when we get back to the residence.” Felicity answered, looking confusedly at the menu. “I’ll just put my finger on a thing on the menu and go for it. I’m trying to be adventurous.”  
  
Oliver admired her courage and smiled at her as she swirled her finger over the Chinese characters and made her choice. He instead chose the burger he had had the last time, recognizing the characters. They didn’t know how to describe milkshakes when a waiter came for their orders.  
  
“It’s cold. Like milk? But with ice-cream?” Felicity argued, getting on her feet. She made a slurping sound, while gesturing with her hands, trying to make sure the waiter understand what she was talking about. “Ice-cream.” she repeated, motioning a scoop placing it one a cone. Then she proceeded to pretend licking the said ice-cream. Oliver looked for a moment, the image of her licking an imaginary cone of ice-cream bringing indecent thoughts to his mind he didn’t need to think about at the moment. He then looked away from her to the other patrons of the restaurant looking at them and laughing.  
  
“Nǎi xī.” the waiter exclaimed, seemingly saying milkshake in Chinese but Oliver didn’t know for sure. He nodded at the two of them and left while Felicity took a seat.  
  
“Great, now I’ll be known forever as the crazy American girl in this place.”    
  
“Could have been worse.” Oliver slyly commented.  
  
“Probably.” she agreed. “I could have been known as the licker girl.”  
  
If Oliver had been drinking something, he was sure he would have spurted the liquid or choked on it. He simply nodded at her and then their food arrived. He had forgotten to order fries, but he didn’t care as he noticed Felicity looking at the food like she was about to cry. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked in a concerned tone, placing a hand on her wrist.  
  
“Is it too pathetic to cry over a hamburger?” She looked at him. “Thank you, Oliver. I know this probably means nothing to you, but it means everything to me.”  
  
He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t had many occurrences in his life where people had been thankful for him. He had been a constant source of trouble to his family, he had been a terrible boyfriend, he wasn’t particularly great at being a brother and people on the island had been too keen to kill him. Felicity was genuinely thankful. It was true, taking someone out to get a burger didn’t have much of a significance, but it did, both to Felicity and him. She was having her first burger in years thanks to him. He had someone thanking him for a good deed for the first time.    
  
They ate in silence, both of them thoroughly enjoying their food and milkshakes. Oliver thought Felicity probably enjoyed hers more. She didn’t even mind the brain freeze she got from taking a big sip of the milkshake through the straw. She just looked happy and content and that made him happy in return.  
  
“I wish we could go Dutch to make this feel less like a first date, but I don’t have any money. I have credit cards but they are only for online shopping, that’s the only thing I’m allowed.” Felicity said as the waiter came to take away the dirty dishes.  
  
Oliver was taken aback, not only because of Felicity referring to their outing as a date but because up until that point, money had been the last thing on his mind while planning how to get Felicity out of the residence. He didn’t have any money, not even for public transport. The first time he had been in the restaurant, Thing 1 and 2 had paid for him. Other occasions that involved any expenditure were covered by A.R.G.U.S. The only material things he owned were the clothes he was wearing, not that they cost much, and he hadn’t even bought them himself.  
  
“I don’t have any money either.” he mumbled. Their eyes met. “Make a run for it?” he suggested.  
  
“Dine and dash? No, that’s horrible.” Felicity protested. “This is bad. This is what horrible people do.”  
  
“Felicity.” he said. “We aren’t horrible people, we just don’t have any money due to our predicaments.”  
  
She nodded in understanding. “I can transfer the money to them from my credit cards. Or send them a check?”  
  
"How are we gonna get them to agree with that?”  
  
She got on her feet. “Follow my lead.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to write their night out in one chapter, but then they got talkative so it's going to be in two parts. I am terribly sorry for my lack of actual Hong Kong knowledge (but I might be trying harder than the show did?)
> 
> Many thanks for reading. Comments are love!


	9. The Expression

**Chapter 9 – The Expression**  
  
“We’ve been on an island the entire time. I mean I know Hong Kong is made up of islands and I know I was on the island. I just hadn’t seen it.”    
  
They were standing by a railing on the docks, looking over the both sides of the city. They were on the Hong Kong island where the residence was located. The island, which also hosted Oliver’s safe house, was linked to the mainland by a bridge. Tatsu and Maseo’s apartment was on the mainland, almost on the outskirts of city. Having lived on an island for two years, Oliver preferred the mainland, but his current housing situation was out of his control.  
  
Hong Kong was a nice city. He had been there years ago with Tommy before, spending his days in a drunken haze given the legal drinking age was 18, not really experiencing the city. He hadn’t even realized it was made up of islands. The best way to understand the city was to be outside, out on the roads. Since Felicity had been stuck in the same house for two years without ever getting out, Oliver knew very well how she felt realizing how the city was located.  
  
“Next time, we can take the tram to The Peak and you can see everything from high up.” he suggested, not really giving thought to his words. He was promising her a next time even though they weren’t sure they had been successful with their first attempt. There weren’t any suspicious men lurking in the dark, looking out for them on the streets, but they had no idea of knowing whether her father and his men had figured out she had escaped until they made it back. He didn’t want to give her any false hope.  
  
“Thanks, husband.” she smiled at him. Oliver fought the urge to laugh, thinking back to their cultivated plan of getting out of the restaurant without paying. After asking him to follow her lead, Felicity had grabbed his hand then walked over to the waiters, telling them in a loud voice about how the two of them were on their honeymoon and how her wallet had been stolen, leaving them penniless until they could go back home to the States. It was a great performance, Oliver had to admit, as he held her warm hand in his and stepped in closer to her to support her lie. She had even shed a single tear, then pressed herself against him.  
  
He would never learn whether the owners of the restaurant had really bought their lie and wanted to make a nice gesture for a newly married couple or they had simply wanted to get rid of the rude American tourists, but after listening to Felicity talk about how wonderful their fake honeymoon had been for five minutes, they had simply nodded their hands and walked them out of the restaurant without asking for any payment. Felicity, regardless, had taken notes about the restaurant to make sure she would pay them somehow.  
  
“I wish I had my tablet with me.” she sighed for the third time as she tried to climb on the railing, ignoring Oliver’s attempts to help steady her. “I would be able to pay the restaurant and also maybe take some photos.”  
  
Oliver wasn’t completely inapt with technology, but since he had been on an island away from it for years, he had been out of touch and hadn’t seen an actual tablet in use so he didn’t know what to say. “Don’t worry about it, Felicity.” he tried to reassure her. “They allowed us to dine and dash, there is nothing wrong about it.”  
  
She nodded. “I know, but it just… it feels bad.” she responded.  
  
“Felicity, there is nothing about you that is bad.” Oliver said, looking right into her eyes.  
  
“Except half of my genes.” she said instead. “Or maybe 40 percent of it? Genealogy has never been my forte. I’m better with technology, not biology. I mean, I know the basics of biology but not enough to determine how much of my genes I got after my father.” she blurted out all in one breath.  
  
Oliver remained silent for a moment as he listened to her, then responded as her eyes sought his. “I don’t think that’s true.”  
  
“What, my genealogy estimates?”  
  
“You having bad genes.” Oliver responded in a firm tone, trying to convince her. Her father was a bad person, yes, but that didn’t mean she took after him. He had spent now about five days with Felicity and he hadn’t seen her do one bad thing. He had seen his share of evil people, and Felicity was not even close to being one of them.  
  
“What are your employers planning to do with Darkh Vader?” she asked then, confusing him.  
  
“Darkh Vader?” he asked, not knowing what that meant.  
  
She smiled at him, realizing that he wasn’t able to understand the reference she made. “I call my father Darkh Vader. You know, like Darth Vader? From Star Wars? Vader means dad in Dutch – which makes it like the biggest spoiler in entire history of film.”

Oliver started laughing despite himself. “I watched Star Wars as a kid but didn’t know that.” he said. “My sister loves those movies.”

“The originals are the best. I’m not convinced with the prequels. The last one was horrible.”

They were out in Hong Kong, having escaped for the night from their respective imprisonments and were talking about the Star Wars movie franchise. It seemed like it was such a normal thing but they weren’t normal people living normal lives. The whole thing seemed surreal to Oliver and made him thankful for Felicity’s existence.

“Maybe they can do sequels in some five years focusing on Han Solo instead of stupid Anakin.” she continued, breaking his train of thought. She then shrugged. “So, back to what I was saying, what are your employers' intentions with my father?” she asked. “Wait, that sounded like your employers want to marry him.”

He grinned at her. “No, my employers don’t want to marry your father.”

“Thanks for the clarification.” she responded. “What are they planning then? Because I know what other people have tried so far and I can give them some pointers.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, curious. It was strange to hear Felicity talk about her father’s activities like he was just running normal errands instead of getting involved with mobs and gaining enemies. It was far from the truth. Felicity knowing that people had attempted to bring her father down was rather strange, too.

“Remember when I told you that you weren’t the first person to approach me for my father?” she asked and he nodded in response. She then paused, trying to gather her thoughts. She sighed before continuing. “There used to be a smart girl in college who wasn’t so smart when it came to boys. She fell in love with the one guy who gave attention to her, never realizing that he was actually working undercover for NSA to gather information on her father.”

Listening to her reveal such a sad experience made Oliver want to tell her everything, once again. He had dropped bread crumbs of what had happened to him on the island, not knowing how to tell her everything for fear that she would look at him differently once she knew about everything he had done. Even though she knew he had approached her first with ulterior motives, she had let him in, keeping his secret. Oliver had been that guy, like her ex-boyfriend, using girls for his own pleasure, breaking their hearts. He didn’t want to be that same person again. Being around Felicity made Oliver remember who he was, who he could become.  
  
“Felicity, I’m sorry that guy was such a dick.” He found himself saying. “You didn’t deserve that. And I’m sorry I first came to for the same reason. I had no choice.”  
  
Felicity gave him an understanding look, then placed her soft hand on top of his. “You’re a way worse liar than Cooper was. I figured you out in a day, not after two years.”  
  
"I'm not sure whether that's a good thing." he said.  
  
“Good. Much better.” she replied, then hopped off the railing to stand. “We should go back, it’s getting late.”  
  
Oliver agreed even though he didn’t want the night to end. He would make sure she would be back in the residence safe and without any suspicions about her disappearance. After that… he didn’t know. He had no idea if he could see her again, if he could take her out again. His deadline was coming. Amanda had given him seven days to get all the information he needed. It was day five and he had nothing. He had confirmed that Felicity was alive, he had confirmed that her dad was a terrible person, but besides that, he didn’t have anything concrete to give to A.R.G.U.S. He was going to get in trouble, he knew that, but he was reluctant to take any action towards completing his mission. He just wanted Felicity.  
  
They made their way back to the residence in silence. The closer they got, the sadder she looked. After a night of freedom, she was reluctant to go back to the residence, to her luxurious prison. He was hesitant himself to let her go, but there was nothing he could do. He was a nobody, he didn’t have any money, any connections. His family didn’t know he was alive. His death wouldn’t make a difference, he knew that very well. He also knew that if he went against A.R.G.U.S., they would make sure his family and friends would be hurt.  
  
With his mind preoccupied, he didn’t realize that they were a block away from the residence. “And we are back.” Felicity was the one to announce. “Oliver, thank you again so much for tonight. You’ll never know how much this means to me.” She grabbed her hand and linked her delicate fingers through his.  
  
Oliver looked down at their hand linked together, a feeling of shyness suddenly taking over. He couldn’t look at her. “Don’t thank me yet.” he said and urged her forward.  
  
He hid her behind the car parked across the street while he checked the vicinity. The guards were nowhere to be seen. There were no extra precautions taken in and out of the residence. They had been gone for almost four hours and everything looked the same as they left.  
  
“The coast is clear.” he told her and held his hand out for her to follow. They made it to the gate. Felicity wasn’t hesitant again to climb over the gate. He followed her inside, then instructed her through the garden to the pipe underneath her window.  
  
“I think I can just walk inside without climbing any pipes… not that I can climb any pipes. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I was in the kitchen.” she whispered. He didn’t argue with her reasoning, it was true after all. Even if she was imprisoned, she was free to walk freely inside. “Good night Oliver.” she reached and kissed his cheek.  
  
A vague smile appeared on his face upon feeling her soft lips on his cheek. He nodded at her and watched her as she silently walked through the garden and entered inside.  
  
He had a bad feeling that it was the last time he would see her again.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger!
> 
> Okay so the only reason I made Felicity's dad Damien Darkh in this story (even though I don't think he is going to be on the show) IS THE 'DARKH VADER' JOKE. ARROW WRITERS, I'M LOOKING AT YOU. IF YOU INDEED GO WITH THAT PATH AND MAKE THAT JOKE ON THE SHOW THEN I AM GONNA BE CONVINCED THAT YOU GUYS ACTUALLY READ FANFIC AND BORROW IDEAS FROM US. I WANT A VISIT TO THE SET IF YOU END UP USING 'DARKH VADER' ON THE SHOW, OKAY? LOL THX BYE


	10. The Distraction

**Chapter 10 - The Distraction**

“You haven’t brought us any evidence so far, Mr. Queen.” Amanda’s voice echoed through the empty room.  
  
Oliver was sitting on a wooden chair that seemed to be the token piece of furniture for all the empty warehouses A.R.G.U.S. had throughout the city. He hadn’t counted but he was sure that in his time in Hong Kong, he had been to more than twenty warehouses, all empty and different from one another, to meet with Waller. The economy of China was boosting; Oliver was confused as to why the city seemed to host so many empty warehouses and how A.R.G.U.S. had a hold on them.  
  
"I'm working on it, Amanda." he answered, his voice strict, without breaking any eye contact with her.  
  
“It’s Ms. Waller for you, and that’s not an excuse, Mr. Queen.” she responded, walking towards him, her heels clicking against the floor. “You’ve been going to that house every night to meet Ms. Darkh and you still don’t have anything for us to work with.”  
  
Oliver had known for a while now that he was getting into trouble. A.R.G.U.S. worked with evidence, always with evidence, regardless of what evil they were going to do. They always needed a contingency plan to justify their methods, their actions. No matter how many evil men they took out by sacrificing the innocent on the way, no matter how many people they tortured, they always had evidence supporting them to vindicate themselves in the eyes of whomever attempted to blame them. Oliver doing a mission for them without bringing them any evidence that proved how terrible of a person Damien Darkh was would not help A.R.G.U.S. when they ultimately decided to take him out.  
  
Oliver knew that he had come to the end. Amanda had given him a week. It was day six and he hadn’t brought them any information other than Felicity’s existence. They needed bank records, they needed business correspondence, they needed photos. Oliver had none of those, except from the knowledge that Darkh had a room in the residence where he ran his business from, something he had learned from Felicity but hadn’t seen himself. He had spent six days without any progress about what Damien Darkh was doing. That garnered punishment for him in the eyes of Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S. They were likely to torture him, once again, and take down Damien Darkh one way or another, without proof, disregarding casualties, probably sacrificing Felicity along the way. That was Oliver’s biggest fear.  
  
The five nights he had spent with Felicity had been the best moments of his life ever since he had stepped aboard Queen’s Gambit, maybe even before that. Felicity made him feel like a person, like a human-being again and not a puppet and a killer who was manipulated by A.R.G.U.S. And she had been the first person he could really see not as a target or a threat but as a person. He had really wanted to help her escape, he still did, but now he was at the end of the line, looking at Amanda, waiting for her to give orders to Thing 1 and 2, ending everything.  
  
"Mr. Queen," she started. "there is only one thing we can do now.”  
  
“Felicity asked for a favor.” he blurted, interrupting whatever Amanda had to say, words coming out of his mouth without provision. “She had been stuck in the same residence for two years now.”  
  
“Yes, which means that she is in no place to ask for favors, Mr. Queen”  
  
“Listen.” Oliver raised his voice. “There is a section of the residence where Darkh runs his illegal activities from. Felicity promised me access in exchange for a ride around the city.”  
  
"And you haven't told us about this before because?"  
  
“I needed to gain her trust.” Oliver answered, his truths blending with lies once again. He had had Felicity’s trust from that first night. He trusted her, and she trusted him even though she had every right not to. He now needed to convince Amanda of the trust established between the two of them to gain extra time.  
  
"So she trusts you now?” she asked and he nodded. “You’re going to break her out of the residence and she is going to let you enter that room?”  
  
A smirk appeared on Oliver’s face, courtesy of the personality he was using for Waller. “She trusts me enough to enter in various parts of her body, a room shouldn’t be a problem.” He enjoyed observing the momentary look of disgust on her face. Amanda liked details, but did not enjoy details about his fake sexual relations. He hated acting to be the charming playboy from a lifetime ago, telling untruths about his relation with Felicity, but it was the only way to convince A.R.G.U.S.  
  
"A ride around the city and we'll have everything?"  
  
“A motorcycle ride.” Oliver specified. He did want to show the city to Felicity and a motorcycle sounded like a good idea.  
  
“Alright.” Amanda nodded then went to Thing 1 and 2 and whispered something. “Go back to your safe house and get ready. The motorcycle will be ready in a couple of hours. Remember Mr. Queen, no funny business.”  
  
Oliver couldn’t believe how easy it had been to trick and convince Amanda, but he didn’t complain. They were granting him a motorcycle for his leisure. Between the working plumbing system in the safe house, the tailor-made suit, meeting Felicity and now a motorcycle, it had been the best mission he had been on, regardless of the many beatings he had received.  
  
He spent the ride back to the safe house thinking about where he should be taking Felicity to as Thing 1 drove. He had suggested taking her to The Peak but he wasn’t sure if they could do it in the dark. There was an amusement park he had been to while on mission once to follow a target, but he didn’t have money to cover the entrance fee. He could simply just take her around the city, taking her to the mainland, showing her sights. As the car came to a stop in front of safe house, Oliver decided that they would simply go on a joy ride around the city.  
  
He took a quick shower, wore some fresh clothes and picked up a banana from the fringe to eat while he waited for his motorcycle. He picked up a beanie to make sure his ridiculous hair stayed in shape as he rode the bike and his brown coat and paced around in the living room as he waited.  
  
“Your ride is here, princess.” Thing 2 announced as he entered the house with a smirk on his face. He threw a set of keys to Oliver, which he caught in air without a blink, which seemed to surprise Thing 2.  
  
“Are you kidding me?” Oliver asked as he stepped outside and saw a pink Vespa awaiting him.  
  
“You don’t like it, princess?” Thing 2 taunted him, smoking a cigarette, blowing the smoke to Oliver’s face. “You didn’t specify what kind of a ride you wanted, this was the only thing we could get on short notice. We can take it away if you don’t like it and you can say bye bye to Miss Darkh.”  
  
“No, it’s fine.” Oliver was seething, but he tried not to show it. He picked up the purple helmet and put it on.  
  
“See you at midnight, pumpkin. Don’t be late.”  
  
Oliver nodded and turned on the engine. He looked ridiculous with a purple helmet, riding a pink Vespa, but as he pumped the gas and started riding away, watching the safe house getting smaller on the mirror, feeling the wind on his face, he didn’t care about his appearance and instead imagined how happy Felicity was going to be.    
  
He parked the bike around the corner from the residence, making sure it was properly locked and walked towards his spot opposite to the residence. He got his flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on and off in the sequence he had arranged with Felicity to make his presence known. He saw curtains rustle first, then her peeking out from behind them. Taking his cue, he climbed over the fences like he had done several times now, his body full of excitement. He made it to the wall and waited beneath her window for her to open the windows to allow him to climb in but it never happened.  
  
Minutes passed. Oliver was getting agitated as he crouched beneath the window next to the pipe. He couldn’t see any of the guards out on the garden. His mind was conjuring up all the worst possible reasons. Then he heard a door open and close somewhere and turned around to see Felicity standing next to him.  
  
"Turns out I’m pretty great at sneaking out from my room.” she whispered with a smile on his face. “The guards are changing their shift, we have exactly two minutes before the new ones arrive.” she announced and grabbed his hand. They got out of the residence in the exact manner as the night before, with Felicity being more confident about her ability to climb over the fence.  
  
“I have a surprise for you.” Oliver said and prompted her to follow him to where the bike was parked. They walked in silence, careful to remain in shadows and stopped when they reached to the pink bike awaiting them.  
  
“Is this yours?” Felicity asked questioningly, sounding surprised.  
  
“It’s borrowed.” he answered.  
  
“It’s so cute.” Felicity said, bumping her shoulder against his playfully. “I hope you didn’t steal it.”  
  
“My employers gave it to me for the night.”  
  
“Good thing I came with my tablet, then.” she commented and unzipped her jacket to reveal a book-sized device. With one touch, the device came to life, illuminating her face. She started touching the screen. “I bet your employers put a tracker on it. I can deactivate it, give me a second.”  
  
Oliver stood stunned, watching her swipe her delicate fingers over the screen, her forehead crinkled in thought. “You can… do that?” he asked, failing to mask the amazement in his voice.  
  
“I can do way more.” she disregarded him and worked for another minute. “Done.” she announced, raising one fist in victory which brought a smile on Oliver’s face. “Your employers have some intricate technology, but it is totally useless against me.”  
  
He remained astonished, just giving her a dumbfounded smile. She had been successful to deactivate a tracker developed by A.R.G.U.S. in a matter of minutes by simply using a tablet. “You’re remarkable.” he muttered, then picked up the helmet and handed it over to her.  
  
“Thank you.” she smirked at him with her head bent down, looking at him from over her glasses. “I’m glad I wore jeans for this. Any idea where we are going?”  
  
“Wherever you want.” he suggested as he seated himself.  
  
“You know the city better than I do.” she said as she straddled the bike behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest.  
  
Oliver couldn’t say a thing as the feeling of her chest against his back, her soft arms, her legs so close to his blundered him speechless. “Hold on tight.” he whispered to her and hit the road.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!  
> Many thanks for reading and commenting, you all make my life better, seriously!  
> I was attempting to write a scene over the weekend and I actually ended up finishing it? So it's 13 chapters in total. I will try to publish the rest probably weekly.
> 
> I'm fulltimeprocrastinator on tumblr, come over to say hi


	11. The Indiscretion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I'm nice and because I have a paper deadline for next week and won't have time to publish another chapter, enjoy an early update! Let me know what you think
> 
> I'm fulltimeprocrastinator on tumblr, come say hi!

**Chapter 11 – The Indiscretion**  
  
  
“This is like Roman Holiday, but obviously, we are not in Rome and I’m not a princess and you’re not a reporter.” she shouted in his ear as they rode across the bridge connecting the island to the mainland.  
  
Keeping his eyes on the road, Oliver snickered. “Is that a good thing?” he shouted back.  
  
"It's a great thing." she responded, squeezing him tighter, not that he minded. She rested her head on the crook of his shoulder.  
  
It was great.  
  
Carefree was the one word Oliver could use to describe how he felt as he rode the pink bike up and down the roads of the island, shouting Felicity names of famous landmarks they passed by, with the wind on his face and her warm hands clasped on his front.  
  
They crossed the bridge and Oliver made a turn to left to take her first to the port so that she could see the island she had been on for two years from the other side and then take her to the market place installed on Temple Street after dark.     
  
"It's so beautiful.” Felicity said as she took in everything. They could see where they were at the night before on the island from where they were standing. The city was loud and colorful; yet once again, as he stood next to Felicity, Oliver felt like it was just the two of them alone. “It’s good to be on the mainland. No offense, but islands are overrated.”  
  
Based on personal experiences, he couldn’t agree more. “At least it’s not an uncharted island.”  
  
Felicity looked at him, her blue eyes searching. “Were you scared?” she asked, catching Oliver off guard. “When you first landed on the island?”  
  
“Yes.” Oliver admitted. He never wanted to relive the fear and panic he had gone through when he had first made it to land, only to be hit by Yao Fei’s arrow. “I was terrified.”  
  
Felicity did something he didn’t expected. She took a step towards him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. It was comforting and probably the most affection he had been given in the last few years. Oliver was stoic at first, not knowing what to do with his limbs, but as Felicity buried her head against his jacket and sighed, he brought an arm hesitantly on her back and held her.  
  
“You’re gonna be okay, Oliver.” she promised.  
  
Oliver wanted to believe her, he really did, but it didn’t seem like a possibility. “Thanks.” he whispered as Felicity withdrew herself from him, feeling light thanks to her. He tried to hide his disappointment from the sudden lack of warmth. “You’re gonna be okay, too.”  
  
“I know.” she smiled at him knowingly. “So, where are we going next?”  
  
Oliver rode the bike north, close to Temple Street. The vendors and stands were already out, the street filled with crowds of locals and tourists alike. After making sure the Vespa was securely locked, Oliver held Felicity’s hand tightly to avoid getting separated and they started browsing everything from electronics to clothes to souvenirs. Felicity looked at everything in amazement, a smile constant on her face.  
  
"How do I look?” she asked as she put on a pair of 2010 glasses with the lenses making up the zeroes over her own glasses. She looked ridiculous, but she looked so happy that Oliver simply smiled at her. They walked a few stands down and she took off her jacket, leaving her in a black tank top that contrasted with her pale skin. “You should get one.” she pointed at a tie-dyed t-shirt with the words “I Heart HK” written on it.  
  
“No, thanks.” Oliver responded and moved on to the next stall. It was then he got the feeling of being watched. His instincts had developed over the years while trying to survive on the island, fighting for his life, and as he walked down the street with Felicity next to him, he could swear they were being watched.  
  
While Felicity was checking out some handmade jewelry, trying on necklaces and bracelets, Oliver took the opportunity of standing next to her and looked around to confirm his suspicions. Using her for a moment to block himself, he looked to their right and there they were, Thing 1 and 2, looking over at them. Felicity had been successful at deactivating the tracker on the bike, but it seemed that he had been unsuccessful at noticing and getting rid of their tail.  
  
"Felicity." he leaned in and whispered into her ear. "We're being followed.” he told her and placed a hand on her waist to steady her and prevent her from making any suspicious moves. “Grab my hand and on the count of three, start running with me, okay? Nod if you understand.” he directed and she nodded. Her hand snaked around his wrist then she threaded her fingers through his. He held a firm grip. “One.” he started. “Two… three.”  
  
Upon hearing the word three, the two started running, pushing through the crowd. Felicity was not panicked, which was a good thing, but she was unable to catch up with his pace and go over obstacles. He looked behind and saw Thing 1 and 2 running behind them, pushing people and letting a few tourists fall on the ground without remorse. Oliver knew that they would catch on them, so he decided to change their course. Still holding her hand, he made a left and entered a small street.  
  
At the back of his head, he knew that Thing 1 and 2 were simply there to observe his actions and report back to Waller and wouldn’t do anything that would put them in danger, but he really didn’t want them to see Felicity and how he acted when he was with her. He wanted to get rid of them. He directed Felicity inside a store he hoped that had a back entrance. The two of them ran through the aisles and made their way to the back, ignoring the shouts coming from the owner of the store. He was glad to find that there was indeed an exit that led to an alley and they continued running until they reached another small street.  
  
Felicity was getting tired next to him, he noticed. He made them run to yet another street then pulled Felicity into an alley, towards the threshold of an exit door. He pushed her gently against the wall and let her catch her breath. He made sure nobody could see her by flushing his body against hers, covering her and kept his eyes on the street.  
  
Her breath was warm where it touched on his neck, her chest heaving against his as she tried to calm her breathing. From the corner of his eye, he saw Thing 1 and 2 run down the street they had come from, not noticing the alley they were at, confirming his opinion that they were horrible agents. He was grateful at the moment for their horribleness. He then let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and looked down at Felicity. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice hoarse and placed his hands on her shoulders.  
  
She simply nodded at him, her blue eyes sparkling even in the darkness of the alley. She remained silent, which was something that was very rare and kept looking at him. Her breaths were still long and deep, her body still very close to his. Oliver felt every movement in her body on his. His eyes were locked on hers. At that very moment, he wanted to kiss her, to taste her lips painted pink, to breathe her in. For a brief second, he saw that she was looking at his lips, probably wanting the same thing. He smiled at her then leaned a little forward, a little downward. He was about to touch her lips with his when there was a loud noise and the door they were standing next to was pushed out towards them.  
  
He pulled her away from the threshold back into the alley as the door opened and a short Chinese man came out holding two black garbage bags. He shouted something in Chinese as he noticed them and made a shooing gesture with his hands after throwing the garbage into the dumpster opposite to the door.  
  
Taking their cue, they moved away from the alley and walked towards the street. Oliver stopped them and made sure Thing 1 and 2 were not around, then directed them back to Temple Street. Felicity was silent as she held his hand and followed him. The Chinese man had ruined their moment. As much as he had wanted to kiss there and then, in hindsight Oliver was glad that they hadn’t kissed in an alley, opposite to a dumpster. He preferred something more memorable.  
  
"Who were those men?" Felicity asked as they reached the street where the Vespa was parked at.  
  
"I call them Thing 1 and Thing 2." Oliver answered as he opened the seat where the purple helmet was stored at. He handed it to Felicity and watched as she put it on and pulled her ponytail from under it. “They are my employer’s henchmen, they follow me around.”  
  
"They seem to be doing a lousy job.” she commented then took her seat. She tilted her head and gave him a look. “What else you got for me Mr. Queen?”  
  
Oliver looked at her. “I’m hungry, are you?”  
  
“No, we are not dining and dashing again.” she raised her hands in protest, her tone firm. “I do have my tablet but I don’t feel comfortable trying to convince unsuspecting restaurant owners to allow us to pay the bill electronically.”  
  
Oliver agreed with her. Neither of them spoke enough Chinese to convince people for such a thing and no matter how fun it had been, he didn’t want a repeat of the last time. Then a thought crossed his mind. “My friends live twenty minutes away from here, I’m sort of house-sitting for them.” he told her, remembering that he still had keys to Tatsu and Maseo’s house. Being very hospitable hosts, even though Tatsu didn’t like him much, the family always had extra food stored in their house they wouldn’t mind being consumed by Oliver.  
  
The brief sullen look on Felicity's face disappeared. "Why didn't you say so before?" she asked, then tapped on the empty spot before her, motioning him to sit. “Let’s go!”  
  
Oliver took his seat and rode the bike in the direction of Tatsu and Maseo’s apartment. The Vespa wasn’t as fast he assumed so the ride took longer than twenty minutes. They hadn’t been followed, which was a good sign. He helped Felicity off the bike, chained the Vespa to a railing in front the building and led her inside.  
  
They climbed up the stairs side by side in silence. He knocked on the door to make sure the apartment was still vacant and when there was no response, he unlocked the door and led Felicity inside. It was dark, but the familiar smell was still present. He walked in and turned on the floor lamp on the corner while Felicity remained at the entrance, looking around, taking in everything. “It’s not much, but it probably has food.” he said and walked back to where Felicity was standing.  
  
“And condoms, I hope.” Felicity blurted out.  
  
Before Oliver could even begin to comprehend the meaning of her words, Felicity was standing before him, then was standing on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. She reached and kissed him. Her lips were warm and soft and Oliver responded immediately, placing his hands on her waist, letting her push him against the small wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the living area.  
  
She kissed him with fervor and abandonment, which Oliver reciprocated with equal intensity. She opened her mouth against his and let him tangle his tongue with hers, then unwrapped her arms from his neck and moved them downwards to his waist, to the hem of his jacket. Oliver took the hint and unzipped his jacket and took it off, throwing it somewhere. He felt Felicity smile against him.  
  
“Where is the bed?” she asked in between kisses, her voice throaty and deep.  
  
“Over there.” Oliver motioned with his head towards the wall at the other side of the room where his floor bed was stored before making a move towards her neck to place kisses against the soft skin.  
  
Felicity turned her head towards the direction he pointed at, giving him access to more skin. “There is nothing there.” she commented. “Isn’t this the living room? They sleep here?”  
  
“I sleep there.” Oliver commented when she looked back at him, suddenly feeling embarrassed of his own sleeping situation. Felicity didn’t seem to mind. She was grinning at him, then she pulled him and walked them towards the thin mattress rolled up by the wall, never breaking contact with him.  
  
Oliver moved down to pick up the mattress and lay it on the floor while Felicity held him from the behind, placing small kisses on his back, murmuring to herself, warming Oliver all over. After placing the pillows, he turned back to face her and planted his lips against hers once again. She took off her jacket and dropped it on the floor, remaining once again in the tank top that tantalized Oliver.  
  
He broke the kiss for a moment, just to stand and look at her. She seemed a little shy under his gaze, trying to look down to avoid his eyes. Her hair was still in the ponytail, with a few stray hairs sticking out in places after being held captive underneath the helmet. Her glasses were still on, her cheeks were flushed, her lips were slightly swollen after the kisses they shared. She looked breathtaking. Oliver took a step closer to her and ran a hand down her soft hair, removing the tie to take it out of its ponytail and took off her glasses. He placed them both on end table on their right, then kissed her again.  
  
He then took her hands in his and moved downwards to sit on the mattress, pulling her with him, allowing her to straddle him. He felt his breathing getting heavy when she placed a hand on his chest and continued kissing him. With her comfortable weight on him, Oliver broke the kiss for a moment to take off the henley shirt he was wearing. He didn’t look at her for fear that he would be met with a look of disgust on her face upon her seeing his scars. Instead he felt her delicate fingers on his first scar, followed by her soft lips on it. He finally looked at her and Felicity smiled at him with affection. He could see understanding and affection in her unshielded eyes.  
  
He kissed her once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day


	12. The Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly NSFW at the beginning

**Chapter 12 – The Confession**  
  
“So, that happened.” Felicity broke the silence. Her fingers were drawing lazy circles on his right pec while her head nested on his left pectoral.  
  
Oliver was still trying to calm his breathing down. His body felt like it was on fire where it touched her naked skin. The last time he had been with a woman was with Shado back on the island. They had simply fooled around like teenagers on the riverside after their talk, making out and getting handsy before being interrupted by Slade. Before that, it had been Laurel as a parting gift for his trip to China. He hadn’t even taken his clothes off to make a move on Sara before Queen’s Gambit went down.  
  
Feeling Felicity’s soft, warm skin against his, Oliver contemplated about the idea of being content. Both of them having been out of practice for years, their movements had been clumsy and hasty while having sex, but as he had moved in Felicity, looking down at her to see her hair cascaded down on his uncomfortable pillow, to see her with her body flushed and sweat-covered, to see her with a smile mixed with pleasure on her face, Oliver felt in that moment that he had never been so close to someone before. It wasn’t just an act of quick sex for his own pleasure and release, like it had been with numerous women, like it had been with Laurel. He had felt things he couldn’t describe, in his heart. It had been different, emotional, a connection of two souls trying to chase after freedom. It was special. He never wanted to leave her.  
  
He had made it his mission to bring Felicity to an orgasm; it was a mission he was devoted to more than any A.R.G.U.S. mission he had done. Through means of leaving open mouthed kissed on her heated skin and of rubbing her clit his thumb as he moved inside of her, he had succeeded once before catching his own release; then he had gone down on her, something he had never volunteered to do on his own accord before, to make her come twice more. The sight of her writhing under his touch in pleasure had been exquisite. He never wanted to stop.  
  
Felicity had already come down from her high while he was still trying to recuperate himself after watching her. Oliver stared at the ceiling while he played with the ends of her hair, relishing the softness, too tired to talk for a moment. He was content. It was an unfamiliar feeling that he found himself to be enjoying very much. He wanted to be content forever.  
  
"That was a long time coming.” Felicity blurted out, her breath tickling him. “Pun intended. It’s been a really long since I’d been with someone. Not that the last time was any good. And I’m sorry for bringing my ex-boyfriend into the conversation after all that we had done together, but I just wanted you to know.” she continued. “This was great, better than any other time, or just fingers. I’m not saying fingers are a bad thing though, especially after experiencing yours.”  
  
Oliver couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
  
“You really should.” she said, turning her head to look at him. "I think I can ramble for hours about your mouth.”  
  
"Glad to be of service." he commented and leaned down to kiss her, then propped his head up on his elbow to look down at her, enjoying her soft skin that seemed to glow. He wanted to make a comment about how she had been during sex, but instead he said “You’re beautiful.” He hoped that she could hear the genuineness in his voice. With his other hand, he reached out and caressed the side of her face and placed a quick kiss on her temple.  
  
Something shifted in the way she looked at him. He watched as she took a deep breath before she spoke. “Are you going to turn me in to A.R.G.U.S. before they arrest my father?”  
  
Oliver was taken aback, hearing the name of a top secret coming out of her mouth. It was the last thing he had expected to hear her say. “How do you know about A.R.G.U.S.?” he asked, moving slightly away from her to observe her.  
  
She didn’t look at him as she spoke. “I had looked into you. I knew you were being held against your will, I just didn’t have a name before.” she started. “When I was trying to deactivate the tracker, I happened upon their servers. Doesn’t it stand for Advanced Research Group United Support?” Once again, Felicity Darkh had taken him off guard with her intelligence and truthfulness.  
  
“I.. I don’t know.” Oliver answered in all his honesty. “Things… happened on the island. I was drifting away on the water. When I woke up, I was in Hong Kong. They found me and made me work for them. I don’t know anything about the organization apart from the fact that they are working underground for the American government and are led by Amanda Waller. At least in Hong Kong.”  
  
“Anything else you know? Where are they located?” she asked, getting into a seating position, covering her naked chest with the blanket they were using.  
  
Oliver wasn’t expecting Felicity to be serious about looking into A.R.G.U.S. “They are dangerous Felicity. They’re after your father and will not hesitate you sacrifice you to get their hands on him.” Oliver warned.  
  
She gave him a soft smile, ignoring his warning. She simply said “That’s why I’m going to help you escape from them.”  
  
Oliver moved and leaned his back against the wall, looking down at Felicity in confusion. “Felicity?” he asked, not being able to come up with a rational thing to say.  
  
“I can come up with fake documents for you to get out of the country.” she began. “You can go back home, go back to your family.”  
  
"Felicity." Oliver repeated again. “You’re the one in danger here, not me.”  
  
She patted his chest. “No need to be chivalrous right now.” she whispered jokingly, then got serious. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”  
  
Oliver searched her face for an answer but instead Felicity was just looking at him with a tight-lipped smile. “What is it?”  
  
She scooted closer to him, placed her head against his shoulder. He reached out held her hand. “Remember when I told you about my ex-boyfriend being in NSA?” she asked and he nodded. “A little over two years ago, months after I had found about him and we broke up, he approached me on behalf of NSA with a job offer. After all he put me through, of course I declined him.” she said. “A month later, I was arrested on accounts of illegal hacking. Yes, I had hacked my way through many organizations’ servers but I was always very discreet, never leaving any evidence behind. I am very good. It was all legitimate. But Cooper knew about it and got NSA to track me down. So they offered me a deal in exchange of dropping the charges.”  
  
“They offered you to sell your father out.” Oliver suggested. It was her turn to nod.  
  
"I hadn't seen my father since I was a little kid. He walked out on my mother and me when I was young.” she told him. Oliver squeezed her hand. “I knew he kept track of me though, like I had done with him. So once I graduated, I reached out to him, saying that I was in trouble. I knew he would offer to take me under his roof and his protection.”  
  
“So you’ve been working with NSA for the last two years?” he asked and she nodded once again. “You escaped prison in exchange of being imprisoned in the residence.”  
  
"The difference is that I wouldn’t be able to escape a real prison even though I know how to make objects out of soap.” she suggested. “I have all the information on my father to keep him locked up for the rest of his life, I’m just waiting on NSA to agree on my terms.”  
  
Once again, Oliver was surprised. “You have the evidence and you haven’t used it yet?”  
  
She straightened her back against the wall. “I hacked into Darkh Vader’s computer the second day I moved to the residence.” she shrugged. “I’m a genius and he’s terrible at being a crime lord.”  
  
Oliver started laughing. "You found all the evidence you needed in two days and have been sitting on it ever since?”  
  
“NSA refuses to cooperate.” she explained. “They didn’t believe me when I told them that I had everything they needed two days after I confirmed that I was indeed in Hong Kong. They decided to give me more time to make sure my information was correct even though it was correct from the very beginning, then they changed my handler several times. I told them two months ago that I wanted to go into witness protection program but haven’t heard back from them.” she paused. “I’m patient, I can wait. Besides, if I’d done something before, I wouldn’t have met you.”  
  
Despite the situation, despite the fact that Felicity could have been freed months ago, which was all he wanted for her, he couldn’t help but be happy over her last comment. “Felicity… this is… you can bring your father down. That’s all A.R.G.U.S. wants.”  
  
“If you’re going to suggest that I should give my info to them for them to help me out, then I’m going to punch you.” she said.  
  
He snickered. "That's the last thing on my mind.” he said. “They’ll use the evidence and take you out, too.”  
  
"Yeah, I don’t want that. I like being alive, thank you very much.” she commented then turned towards him. “That’s why you’re in more danger than I am. I can get out of my situation any time with or without NSA anytime I want but A.R.G.U.S. won’t stop until...”  
  
“Until I’m dead.” he provided.  
  
"You need my help, Oliver. You need to accept help from people, you need to let people in. I can arrange for you to go back home, to your family.”  
  
Oliver pondered for a moment. The offer was very tempting. He could do that, he could go back to Starling City, get reunited with his family but something was holding him back. “I’m not ready.” he suggested. “When the boat, Queen’s Gambit went down, I was drifting on the water, then was rescued by my father on a raft. It was me, my father and the ship’s captain for a day on the open sea. It might have been longer, I don’t know.” he started, finally telling Felicity the truth after everything she had told him. “We were running out of drinking water, we had no food, we were all going to die. My father handed me a small notebook, told me that he failed his city and made me promise to right his wrongs, then shot the captain and pulled the trigger on himself.”  
  
Felicity gasped and placed her head against his chest. “Oliver.”  
  
“He sacrificed himself to save me. I promised him. I promised him that I’d right his wrongs. But I’m not ready, I can’t go back now.”  
  
She nodded against his chest. “I understand that. Whatever you decide, I can help you.”  
  
“Felicity, I can’t ask you to do that.”  
  
She gave him a bright smile as she lifted her head and looked at him. “You’re not asking, I’m offering.” she said. “I haven’t been out of the residence up until last night, that’s true, but I have connections all over the city in case of emergencies. I can arrange papers for you and get you anywhere in the world, away from the clutches of A.R.G.U.S.”  
  
Oliver returned her smile, then kissed her lips. She was amazing. The entire time he had known her, he thought that she was in danger and he wanted to help her regardless of how limited his resources were. Yet it had turned out that Felicty was able to save both herself and him. She was incredible. His mind went back to the island where he had nobody he could trust, where he had failed people. He thought about his last days on the island, right before Amazo went under. His mind provided a contact. “I know someone in Russia who owes me a favor.”  
  
"Russia it is, then." she announced then got out of the makeshift bed, showing off her naked body to him as she moved and grabbed her tablet from where it was hidden in her jacket. She then picked up her glasses from where he had placed them and put them on. Like before, she touched the screen with her fingertips, swiping left and right. Oliver watched in amazement as she did things he couldn’t begin to comprehend wearing nothing but her glasses. She spent several minutes walking across the living area, solely focused on the tablet in her hands. “Done.” she announced and got back into bed.  
  
“Done?” he asked, surprised.  
  
“I contacted my contact. He owes me a favor. Long story, I helped him out of a speeding ticket once.” she said, moving around her hands. “I guess it wasn’t such a long story after all.”  
  
Oliver smiled. “And?”  
  
“He’s going to meet you at the docks tomorrow, give you your new identity with a passport and a plane ticket to Moscow from Shanghai. I just need the name of your contact in Russia and we are settled.”  
  
“Anatoli Knyazev. He is in Moscow.”  
  
She nodded and worked on the tablet for another minute. “Is there any food in this place?” Felicity asked then. “You brought me here for dinner after all.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAIT...WHAT??? Felicity was working undercover? Let me know what you thought of that.
> 
> 1 MORE CHAPTER LEFT!
> 
> Thank you all so much for sticking around! What's gonna happen? Is Oliver gonna go along with the plan? Wait and see!


	13. The Completion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Thanks for sticking around!

**Chapter 13 – The Completion**  
  
Oliver rode the bike back to the residence slower than before, trying to extend his limited time left with Felicity for as long as he could. The woman sitting behind him was amazing and the last thing he wanted to do was to say goodbye to her, but their time together was coming to an end.  
  
Her arms were tighter around him, her warmth familiar now. They rode across the bridge, getting back to the island, leaving the mainland and memories behind them. In less than half an hour, they would say goodbye to each other for good. She would go back to the residence and gain her freedom and he would get on a ship in the morning from the docks, leaving Hong Kong for Shanghai and then get on a plane to Moscow.  
  
He dreaded leaving her behind, but they both knew he had to. He would trick A.R.G.U.S. once again into thinking that Felicity had another condition for giving him access to the information they sought to buy time and instead he would run away. In the meantime, Felicity would leak information about his father, blackmailing NSA to take her into witness protection. They would both be freed from their captors.  
  
The Vespa had difficulty climbing up a road leading to the residence and Oliver took it as a sign to leave the bike there and walk the rest of the way back to the residence instead, creating the opportunity to spend more time with Felicity. He brought the bike to a stop close to the sidewalk and turned to Felicity. “Wanna walk back instead?” he asked and she nodded with enthusiasm. She handed the helmet to him as she got on her feet and he placed it in the storage underneath the seat and locked the bike to a lamppost.  
  
“This was a great night.” she said as they started walking hand in hand. “Thank you Oliver.”  
  
He beamed at her, emotions fighting in him. “Thank you, Felicity.” he said in return. “Being assigned to seduce you has been the best thing that happened to me.”  
  
“So that was your actual assignment? To seduce me?” she laughed, the sound bringing joy to Oliver. “Well, we can say you succeeded in that, Mr. Queen. I’ve been properly seduced.” she commented, leaning against him. “You coming to that party then climbing into my room has been the best thing that’s happened to me.”  
  
Oliver wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her closer. He wanted her to know how he felt, how much she had managed to change him in such a short period of time. “Felicity, I want you to know that a lot of bad things happened to me over the last few years and this week that I’ve spent with you… it gave me hope. I’ve spent such a long time losing faith in humanity, seeing people as threats or targets but you… I saw you at that party and... You were the first person I could see… as a person.”  
  
Felicity stopped walking and looked at him, holding his hands, then lifted her one hand to run her knuckles over his stubble. “Oliver…”  
  
“There was just something about you. And I’ve been proven right.” he finished and Felicity just grabbed him and kissed him.  
  
The kiss was brief. When they broke apart, Oliver rested his forehead against hers. "For what it’s worth, I spent two years being surrounded by men with machine guns and Darkh Vader, after having lost all my faith in men after my ex-boyfriend played me, but then I saw you, someone I knew to be dead but was well and alive and I just… I just trusted you, without any strings attached. And it wasn’t just because you have one of those faces.” she said as she hugged him, reminding him of his stupid excuse when she had first asked him if she could trust him. "Or because you are super hot."  
  
He smiled. The words came out from his mouth without thought. “Come with me.”  
  
Felicity looked at him, a small smile apparent on her face. “Oliver… I can’t.” she said, the words slow and deliberate. “You know I can’t. I can’t do anything until my father is behind bars.” she explained. “Thanks for the offer though. I’ll always think of you as the nice guy who wanted to save me.”  
  
Oliver grinned at her and reluctantly released her. He tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Let’s just not say goodbye, okay?” he asked her and she nodded. They were just a street away from the residence. “When the time is right for both of us, I’ll come find you, wherever you are. I promise you.”  
  
“Okay.” she replied. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears. “Promise me something else.”  
  
“Anything.” Oliver responded at once.  
  
She bit her bottom lip, then gave him a grin that he would keep in his memory forever. “Do something about your hair, will you? You’re ridiculously hot but that hair isn’t doing you any favors.” She ran her soft hand through his hair.  
  
Oliver laughed despite the fact that he felt on the verge of tears for the first time in a long time, despite the fact that their time together was almost over. He looked at her, at the smart, wonderful, beautiful woman standing before him, the woman who had granted him his freedom, the woman who had given him hope and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I promise.”  
  
They got to the wrought-iron fences. The residence was quiet and unguarded, as usual. It was time. Once she was over the fence, on the other side, everything would be over. He wanted time to stop so that he could remain indefinitely with her, just by her side, but it was not possible. So he did the only thing he could: he grabbed her and kissed her once again. He wiped away her tears with his thumb while fighting his own then placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it once. She threw her jacket over the fence, giving him a final look of the soft, pale skin he had spent moments worshipping. She turned her back to him, he grabbed her waist and the next moment, she was over the fence, on the other side. He helped her pick up her jacket off the fences and then cherished a final quick kiss shared through the opening between the fences. She then turned back and made her way back to the residence, walking out of his life. She never turned back and didn’t look at him from her window like she always did. Oliver didn’t let regrets stop him from taking a step away from the residence.  
  
                                                                                            ----- 0 ----- 0 -----  
  
The pilot announced that they were about to land and asked all electronic equipment to be turned off. Oliver looked out from the window and saw Moscow for the first time. He had spent the ten hour flight from Shanghai studying Russian by using the Rosetta Stone program Felicity had installed on the tablet she had arranged to be given to him by her contact. It was just another thoughtful thing she had done for him, on top of giving him a new identity as Jack Jordan. The Chinese authorities at the airport hadn’t suspected anything and he had boarded the plane without a hitch.  
  
As the plane landed and he made his way to customs, Oliver felt dread in his bones. He was tired after traveling for hours first by boat then by plane. He feared that the Russians would deem his passport as a fake but as he answered the customs’ officers questions with the beginner’s Russian he had picked up on the plane studying the language program and was let in the country first to pick up his duffel bag, Oliver realized that it had been wrong of him to question Felicity’s abilities even for a moment.  
  
He got on a taxi and was able to give directions to the driver in Russian to Anatoli’s house and he was once again thankful for Felicity’s existence. After a forty minute ride, he paid off the driver using the cash Felicity had arranged for him. He didn’t know what awaited him or how long it would take him to go back home, but he knew that Felicity was going to be safe somewhere in the world away from her father and one day when he was ready, he would go back home, reconnect with his family, then find Felicity, kiss her, pay her the money he owed her though he was sure she wouldn’t accept it and then take her on a real date.  
  
                                                                                             ----- 0 ----- 0 -----  
  
Five years had brought about many changes in Queen Consolidated. It was now known mostly as QC, which he didn’t like, and was ran by his mother. The furniture was changed throughout the building, replaced by what was now described as sleek and modern. There were touch screens everywhere, which still surprised him. Big windows had overtaken everything, giving a look of transparency and trust to the untrained eye. There were many new faces who openly stared at him as he walked by them. He heard whispers about him wherever he went.  
  
The Queen family had always been the center of attention in Starling City, being one of its prominent families, but now with his return, it seemed like the entire city was focused on them, talking about them all the time, which unnerved Oliver. Five years ago, he had craved the attention he was given. Now all he wanted was to live a low profile life, away from the eyes of everyone while trying to save the city under the cover of his hood with his bow and arrows when the night settled. He had a mission to do.  
  
So far he had been able to eliminate a few targets, taking off a few names of his list. He was going only after people he knew to be real trouble-makers, after making sure he had evidence to turn them in to the police. The police force was hesitant of an unknown person they saw as a vigilante doing their job for them, but as he caught news about himself on the television, he didn’t hear any complaints about the crime rate, that was predominantly high especially in Glades, going down.  
  
He was trying to handle things on his own, but he had to admit, he needed help. What he was up against was big, much bigger than he had imagined and trained for. Which was why now he was going to Walter Steele’s office, whom he refused to call as his step-father despite Thea’s suggestions, to ask advice about his employees for his problems related to technology.  
  
"Oliver, so good to see you." Walter greeted him at his office door after being informed by his assistant of Oliver's arrival. “What can I do for you?”  
  
Oliver stepped inside the office that used to belong to his father and took a seat on the leather armchair opposite to the desk. “Well, you know, being stranded on an island for five years, I’m afraid I lost my touch with technology.” Oliver admitted, not bringing in the detail that he had a bullet-ridden laptop he needed information off from. “I was wondering if you could ask someone in the IT department to help me out, teach me some basics. I’ll talk to my mother to pay them over-time, of course.”  
  
Walter leaned against his chair for a moment to think, then came up with an answer. “I know just the right person for you.” he said then picked up the phone. “Adam, yes, it’s Walter. Can you check if Ms. Smoak is down there? I had a favor to ask of her.” he talked into the speaker and waited for a response. “Great, thank you.” He hang up, then turned his attention back to Oliver. “Go down to the IT department. They are now on the 17th floor. Ask for Adam and tell him that I sent you, he’ll take you to Ms. Smoak. She’s the best we have.”  
  
Oliver gave him a courteous smile as he got on his feet. “Thank you Walter, that’s great.” he said and moved to shake the older man’s hand after noticing the framed photo of him and his mother from what seemed to be their wedding day. Oliver still had a lot of photos to go through to catch up. He hadn’t thought that smart phones would become a big thing and would make people take dozens of photos each day while he was gone. He had already given up catching up on Thea’s life after going through two hundred photos of hers from one summer three years ago mostly featuring food.  
  
Following Walter’s direction, Oliver went to the elevator and while waiting for it to arrive, he took the laptop he needed help with from where it was hidden underneath his leather jacket. He pressed the button for the 17th floor and rested against the wall of the elevator as it descended.  
  
The elevator chimed, alerting that he had reached his floor. He took a step outside and looked around for a sign to direct him to wherever he needed to go. He walked towards right and saw a big room. “Hi, I’m looking for Adam?” he announced to a group of five people sitting around a conference table.  
  
“Mr. Queen.” A man shorter than him, wearing a white shirt and slacks got on his feet and walked towards him. “I’m Adam Sandler.” he introduced himself. “No, I’m not the actor.” he added, which Oliver didn’t understand. “Mr. Steele said you were coming down.”  
  
“Yeah, thanks for agreeing to help. I wouldn’t want to take too much time.” Oliver said as he shook the non-actor Adam Sandler’s hand.  
  
"It's completely fine." Adam said as he gestured him to walk with him. “Ms. Smoak is in her office, it’s down the hall.” He pointed. “Her office is the last one on the right.”  
  
“Thanks Adam.” he said.  
  
“No problem, Mr. Queen.” Adam replied, giving Oliver a blinding smile. His teeth seemed too white to be natural. “I’m sure Felicity can help you with whatever you need. Don’t tell her I told you this, but she’s the best we have here.”  
  
Oliver’s heart seemed to skip a beat upon hearing the name. Felicity. He hadn’t heard her name in years even though he thought about her every day. He still had her taste in his mouth, he could hear her voice in his ears, still feel her warmth, even after two long years. In Russia, he had failed to catch up with news about her with everything going on in the Russian mafia he had gotten himself involved with. He had meant to find her upon returning to Starling City, but she had been impossible to track down. There were no records of her anywhere. He had found news about her father being taken down as the ambassador and being sent to prison, which coincided with the timing of his first arrival to Moscow, but nothing mentioned the ambassador’s daughter. Felicity Darkh didn’t seem to exist. He had almost given hope on finding her, breaking the promise he had made her years ago.  
  
Oliver knew Felicity Darkh had been amazing with computers and technology, but the chances of her working under a different last name in his family’s company in his city were slim to none. He didn’t raise his hopes as he took a cautious step towards the office Adam had pointed at. He didn’t want to be disappointed and act cold towards a woman as a result just because she simply wouldn’t be the person he was looking for.  
  
He made it to the office on the right. The door was ajar. He noticed the sign outside. F. Smoak. A smile appeared on his face despite not wanting to become disillusioned. He knocked on the door once but didn’t hear anyone inviting him in, so he pushed the door. He was met with turquoise walls, a rare sight in the building with its standard white walls.  
  
He stepped inside and saw a desk with two large flat screens on it. He noticed someone behind the screens, sitting on a chair with their back turned towards him. He saw the blonde hair tied in a ponytail and felt all the air leave his lungs. His hands got clammy, almost making him drop the laptop he was clutching.  
  
He focused on the ponytail and the pink shirt and tried to calm himself down. He drew some air into his lungs and tried to find his voice. He cleared his throat as an attempt to gain attention, then spoke. “Felicity… Smoak?” he asked in hesitance, his voice low and unsure, the name different yet familiar on his lips.  
  
The figure sitting stopped upon hearing his voice and then slowly rotated in the chair to face him.  
  
Her hair was the same color. She was wearing the same glasses. She looked older yet looked the same. She was still as beautiful as she had always been. She looked up at him. The red pen she was holding dropped on the floor. Her face was first displaying shock, then recognition hit her. Her mouth painted the familiar pink formed a perfect circle as her blue eyes met his.  
  
“I’m Oliver Queen.” he told her, now more in control of his voice.  
  
“I know who you are.” she said, tilting her head. Oliver just stared at her, a grin appearing on his face, the first real smile he had had since the last time he saw her back in Hong Kong. “Took you long enough to find me.” she commented with joy in her voice, then jumped to her feet at once and rushed to him.  
  
Oliver moved towards her, his arms already open and ready for her. Their bodies collided right before her desk and he held her tight, tighter than he had before and just enjoyed the feeling of her being back in his arms after years. She felt the same, her warmth immediately enveloping him. She smelled the same even after years. He held her, enjoying her hug, her familiarity, then let her briefly go to kiss her like he had wanted for years. Her lips were warm and welcoming, like they had been before.  
  
“I kept my promise.” he said, referring to how he had found her when they released each other, still keeping close proximity, still looking at each other like they couldn’t believe their own eyes.  
  
She laughed, a sound he had missed so much. “Yeah, you cut your hair.” she said, then ran a hand through his hair, even though it wasn’t what Oliver had initially meant. “I like it.” He cherished the feeling of her fingers against his hair.  
      
Oliver smiled, really smiled. "Felicity, would you like to go to dinner with me?” he asked. She didn’t hesitate before nodding yes.  
  
  
  
**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that was it! How did you like it? Many thanks to all of you for sticking around, this fandom is amazing!
> 
> And oh, an easter egg: Jack Jordan, Oliver's fake identity, in the comics is Hal Jordan's brother. As you might know, Hal Jordan is the Green Lantern who resides in Coast City - where Oliver in season 4 might be headed to in the flashbacks (as the name on the boat he got on in Hong Kong indicated).

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically the Hong Kong timeline rewritten. I don't think Damien Darkh is going to be Felicity's dad and the big bad villain of next season (because, well, that's too obvious) - I am using him here simply because I needed a shady guy and I love his name. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are love! Come find me at fulltimeprocrastinator.tumblr.com
> 
>  
> 
> Tracklist:
> 
> "Moments With Oliver" by Rachael Yamagata  
> "Drop Everything" by Barcelona  
> "Fifth In Line To The Throne" by Camera Obscura  
> "To Be Alone with You" by Sufjan Stevens  
> "Fool's Gold" by The Middle East  
> "The Big Ship" by Brian Eno


End file.
